


Raft

by TwilightMaster15



Series: Best Friend Projects [1]
Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Airplane Crashes, Character Development, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22327267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightMaster15/pseuds/TwilightMaster15
Summary: After a plane crash leaves Light and L stranded in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles away from civilization, the two must work together to survive. Light has no idea what he is doing, having never prepared for a situation like this. L is secretly an experienced survivor thanks to tragic backstory (TM). Ryuk is here to watch the show.Oh, yeah, L knows Light is Kira, and Light is not happy about it. But even though he has the Death Note with him, he can't do anything with it because L is his only hope of making it back to civilization, so they can continue their battle and get out of the stalemate they realize they have gotten themselves into.Adventures on the high seas in the middle of nowhere only get crazier when both men start seeing each other in a different light and sexual tensions begin to arise, much to the annoyance and confusion of both.
Relationships: L/Yagami Light
Series: Best Friend Projects [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639696
Comments: 95
Kudos: 378





	1. Chapter 1

It was Matsuda's fault they were in this situation. Yes, it was easy to blame anything and everything on Matsuda, because the guy really set himself up for it. But, after all, it was Matsuda who suggested Light and L take some time to go to Australia on a short vacation to celebrate the Kira case being solved.

Or maybe it was L's fault, for taking the private jet and offering to let Light come along. Or perhaps it was Light's own fault for letting curiosity get the best of him. Of course, he had assumed this kind of situation was impossible, and that L would be dead as soon as Rem realized Misa was in danger once again.

Part of Light feared this was Rem's fault, and the Shinigami had decided to kill Light alongside L. 

Now, if you're wondering what exactly the situation was: the plane was going down. 

Regardless of his bravado, Light was actually terrified of dying. Meanwhile, Ryuzaki seemed perfectly calm as though this was just a Tuesday and not what could very well be their final moments alive. Ryuk was laughing his ass off right now as Ryuzaki ran into the cockpit, which was on autopilot, no actual pilot to be found, and started trying to get the plane under control.

"Light, get to the back of the plane and grab the two backpacks out of the emergency compartment, then open the emergency exit."

Light hadn't realized he was frozen in place until that moment, and, regardless of the fact his nemesis was the one barking orders at him, he was glad for instructions because it gave him something to do in a situation he hadn't planned for in the slightest. He also grabbed his own bag with the Death Note, because the last thing he needed was to lose his memories all over again.

Ryuzaki came out of the cockpit as a sudden landing shook them off balance. He kicked open the emergency door, and a liferaft was on the water. Only, it wasn't a yellow inflatable raft. It was wood. _Odd_ , Light mused, but seeing as the plane was rapidly sinking into the water, and Ryuzaki was dragging him onto the raft, he wasn't going to complain at the moment. 

They watched the plane go under, and Ryuzaki sighed in relief, opening the backpacks he had asked Light to grab, and frowned at the fact Light had grabbed his own bag. But he didn't say anything, clutching what looked to be a grappling hook and throwing it into the water, reeling in some plastic he saw. He did all this without saying a word. 

"Wha—What was that?!" Light asked once his body had stopped mercilessly trembling, watching as the last of the plane went underwater.

"It appears our plane has crashed in the middle of the ocean, Light-Kun." Ryuzaki replied as though discussing the weather instead of what could very well be the reason they die out in the middle of the sea, "If you could help me reel things in, that would be very much appreciated."

Light watched Ryuzaki continue to throw the grappling hook and bring things in, and Ryuk's laughter was going to make him reveal himself at this rate. The last thing he needed was for L to learn the truth about Kira while they were stranded. 

"What are you doing?" Light asked, genuinely curious as to what the detective was doing with all the trash and plane debris he was bringing in.

"I am collecting resources for us." Ryuzaki explained, "With this," he gestured to the grappling hook, "I can pull stuff in to add to our raft." Light looked down at the thing they were on, only now realizing a severe issue,

"This isn't a raft! This is a board! Are those sharks?!" He looked down at the water and saw something moderately sized swimming under there. He inched closer to Ryuzaki, who was still busy throwing the grappling hook and reeling it in with the rope. Light then noticed there was indeed a shark below them, "Ryuzaki, look at it! Ryuzaki, we are on what can only be described as a Tupperware lid. And there is a shark. We need more floor space immediately."

Ryuzaki turned, "If there is a shark, there is a 65% chance it was already here, the other 35% says it was lured by the commotion of crashing plane. It is unlikely it will attack you unless you provoke it."

"But not impossible!"

"No, not impossible, so don't take a swim at the moment. But there is something in front of us if you want to take a look." Light looked in the direction Ryuzaki was pointing and brightened,

"An island! That's where we're going."

"Yes, but judging by the size of it from here, I am 80% sure it cannot really be called an island, rather a place to park the raft and collect resources. The things we will need as soon as we can are more floor space, paddles, and a sail. For now, we are cleaning the waters, saving the sharks." Light could tell that the last comment was an attempt at humor in the face of their hopeless situation in which they were probably both going to die. Still, seeing as there was an actual shark under them, he was not amused,

"I'm not saving that shark, that shark can die." 

OoOoO

After about an hour, Light was using the grappling hook to bring in the trash, while Ryuzaki was paddling with a retractable oar he had had in the bag. It was surprising, and a little suspicious, how prepared Ryuzaki was for this circumstance, but it could also be because of paranoia paying off. It was highly unlikely L would risk his own life for the sake of proving himself right.

"This is surprisingly hard." He growled to himself, his arms getting tired from continually throwing the grappling hook—missing more often than not—and reeling it in again.

"Having trouble, Light?" Ryuzaki asked, almost tauntingly.

"Shut up." But then L said something that made Light's blood run cold,

"Shinigami, can you be useful?" He whirled around and saw L was staring directly at where Ryuk was flying just above them. Rem had wanted to switch with Misa, and Light hadn't seen an issue with that. Even now, he still didn't see many problems because he knew Rem hated him, so she wouldn't be any more helpful than Ryuk. Scratch that, Ryuk might actually be beneficial since Light was the one who would typically give him apples. Or Ryuk would kill them both, but they were most likely going to die anyway, and Light wondered why he wasn't panicking about that yet, before supposing adrenaline was the culprit. 

"L, you can see..."

"Well, yes, I touched the notebook in your bag when I was looking for things to use." As if to prove a point, L stopped using the oar and took the Death Note out of Light's bag, holding it up in such a way that Light saw in those mirror-like eyes that L was debating throwing it overboard and being done with it. But for some unexplainable reason, L just put it back in the bag.

"Y-You..." Light was actually stammering as the gravity of the situation increased drastically. That whole plan with Higuchi was pointless if L found out the truth a day later! The only difference was they were _both_ going to die this way.

"Know you're Kira? I have known that for a long time," L explained, "Practically from the moment I first laid eyes on you. But right now, that is not our priority, because you cannot kill while we are out here, and having two people will hopefully give us a better chance at surviving."

"And when we get back...?" He was surprised when L turned to look at him with an expression which was both parts somber and annoyed,

"I can't do anything. Even if you have Misa kill again, my insistence in the last months that you were Kira when it was Higuchi doing the work will make the task force take accusations against you with a grain of salt. And of the two of us, which will your father and the others believe? Now, this doesn't mean I can't keep you under observation, but because you know I know, it is likely you will have me killed the moment we are back to civilization. Or you will have Misa do it, which will throw her under the bus, but you will still be free. Ryuk is the only witness to prove my claims, and I doubt he would testify against you. And even if I disprove the thirteen-day rule, you could tamper with it and make that evidence null and void."

Light instantly realized L was correct, but then realized that meant he couldn't act as Kira anymore without getting caught immediately. They were at a stalemate, where neither of them could win. The only way for victory to be achieved was for one of them to die, and seeing as they needed each other at the moment, that wasn't going to happen. 

They stood in silence for a moment, before L chuckled, "You kind of remind me of the ocean. You're full of salt and scare people."

"Excuse me, I am not harboring sharks inside me." 

Ryuzaki shrugged as though saying, "Well..." but Light cut him off before he even said anything.

"No." Light tossed out the grappling hook again, brightening as he reeled in a jug, "I got a bottle! I never thought there would be a time in my life where I'm thankful people pollute the oceans. At least the land is close." Ryuzaki stared at the tiny island,

"But we're going to miss it unless I can throw the grappling hook at just the right angle. If it comes down to it, we may still need to swim a distance." He took off his shirt and handed it to Light, revealing that he actually had the faint outline of abs. Light hadn't really cared before now, but added to the fact Ryuzaki was so calm in this situation, he wondered how Ryuzaki had those, "Okay, you stay on the raft, I'm going to do this." He dove into the water, swimming the short distance to the land.

"L! Are you insane!?" Light called, turning around and seeing a shark, hopefully not the shark from earlier, was biting the raft, centimeters away from his feet, "RYUZAKI, A SHARK IS BITING THE BOAT!" He tried using the oar to pry its teeth off, and Ryuzaki came back, staring at the shark.

"Huh? Oh, that's unusual, typically sharks leave humans alone for the most part." He took the paddle from Light and whacked the shark upside the head, "Get off. Come on, Light-Kun, help me drag the raft to land so I can unload the supplies and get us better prepared to set sail." 

Light looked down at the darkened grey-blue water worriedly, "Um..." Ryuzaki sighed,

"Please tell me you know how to swim."

"That doesn't matter," Light snapped, "The shark might come back and devour us instead of the—I can't even call it a boat—the piece of shit we're on!

"Actually, yes, it _does_ matter if you can swim, seeing as we are traveling together in the ocean." Ryuzaki replied, clearly knowing that Light couldn't swim, "But I suppose at this moment it isn't too much to worry about because I got a grip on some bamboo. I just need help pulling it in." He handed Light some of the rope and started pulling, bringing the raft to shore. They both got off, and Light helped Ryuzaki take the bags out, and Ryuzaki dragged the boat a little more inland.

It was around this time that Light's adrenaline took the next bus out, and the panic set in. He fell to his knees, sobbing,

"We're going to die!"

Ryuzaki stared at him, blankly, "Yes, I believe that's what people do, Light-Kun. But if you mean we are going to die because of _this_ , will it comfort you to know there is only a 20% chance we will both die?"

"And what's the chance of one of us dying?"

"Also 20%, unless, of course, we can't find some fruit to get my blood sugar back up. In that case, I will pass out from hypoglycemia and likely die, and seeing as you clearly have no idea how to survive, our chances of dying will be 100%." 

Light got up and glared, "You said you were trying to be comforting!"

"I am, so go see if there is fruit. While you do that, I will use this ax to cut down some bamboo and those palm trees to increase the size of the raft and use the bedsheet I packed to start building a sail. Then I'll get the fishing rod out." Ryuk was sitting on one of the trees, watching them, and Light wiped his eyes, tossing Ryuzaki back his shirt, as well as Light's own jacket,

"Just put this with the supplies, do what you have to do."

"Are you actually trusting me right now? That proves you have no idea what you are doing." Light sneered in response, already regretting that reluctant decision, storming off to find some food. 

The island-thing they were on was small, minuscule in comparison to those desert islands in the movies, which could be a tropical paradise. It was maybe a sixth of a square mile, no animals in sight. Light winced, for the first time noticing his shoes and socks were soaked. He wasn't surprised by this revelation, but that didn't make it any more pleasant. 

He saw Ryuk had decided to follow him, and he sighed, "Ryuk, can you be helpful?"

"I could be, but I am content watching you struggle. That L guy's got some skill."

"Yeah, he does. But I have no idea how or why." Light replied, grabbing some sticks to make a fire as he went, hoping L knew how to make a fire. He was a city boy and wasn't around large bodies of water all too often, so this wasn't something he had ever seen as necessary to prepare for. Certainly not something his parents had ever worried about.

On the topic of his parents, Light's mind started racing. How long would it take his father to realize the plane had crashed and now Light and Ryuzaki were who knows where hundreds of miles from civilization.

He continued to walk for a few minutes, deciding to use the rope on the grappling hook to tie the sticks together, so he could use it to help carry the food he found, which mostly included watermelon because he could reach those. He knew he would have to come back to collect things in trees, but right now, he was more satisfied with his watermelon victory.

 _Seriously?_ He cursed himself, _You've been stranded for a couple hours, and already your standards are so low? Remember, you are Kira, able to wipe out hundreds in a day. You can get out of this._

But then he tripped over his own feet and decided to give his ego a rest until he had collected enough data from Ryuzaki to be able to do this on his own. After that, he would finish L off. 

"I found watermelon!" He called as he walked back with his firewood and fruit. He paused for a moment as he watched Ryuzaki, who was still shirtless, using an ax and building. His inky black hair was surprisingly long after getting soaked in seawater, which little droplets falling on his pale back, which almost made him shine in the faint sunlight they had as the sun began to set.

Why was L suddenly attractive? Why did he have abs? Why did he know how to build a sail, because all Light had seen him do was sit at a screen, eat sweets, and play tennis.

Ryuzaki turned, "While you were gone, I've made progress improving our raft. I also found some Akebi. I didn't think we would see any of these, but plants don't ordinarily smell like vanilla and chocolate." Light rolled his eyes,

"So, of course, you were the one to find it."

"Naturally. We're somewhere between the Philipines, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, and Japan—closer to Japan, as proven by the Akebi."

"Why do you know that?"

"Judging from when we crashed, and I have looked at many maps." Ryuzaki then, faster than Light thought possible, snatched a crab out of the water and bashed it against a rock, splitting it in half.

Now, Light was Kira, so the aspect of death didn't bother him unless it was his own. The thing to concern him here was how quickly L had caught and killed it, and the fact it was L at all. L struck him as a hiring a hitman kind of guy, but suddenly Light had fear for his life about the idea of L deciding he could survive on his own and to off Kira in his sleep.

L stared at the crab in his hands for a moment before brightening at the sight of the firewood, "Good, you got more wood. I can use some to improve the raft, and the other half plus Death Note pages as fuel for a fire."

"Why pages from the Death Note?"

"Ryuk said there are unlimited pages, and paper is flammable? It's not rocket science. But you can start the fire, there's a lighter in one of the bags. I need to finish the sail, so we can travel faster, meaning we can stay alive, just a little bit longer. Isn't that great?"

"Well... jolly." Light muttered sarcastically, digging out the lighter and starting a campfire. Ryuzaki stabbed the two crab halves on some smaller sticks, handing them both to Light, 

"Cook these." He went back to work, holding his hand out at an angle towards the sky for some reason, before getting back to work.

Once the crab was cooked, Light went to give half to Ryuzaki, who had cut up one of the watermelons and was eating it to get his blood sugar back up. Light looked down at the dark water, amazed he could see things,

"Woah, Ryuzaki, there's stuff down there."

"Well, yeah, it's the ocean." Ryuzaki winced at the taste of the crab, probably because it wasn't sweet, but it was clear he valued his own survival over flavor preferences as he continued eating. 

"I meant useful stuff." Light snapped, and Ryuzaki smirked a little,

"I know, but you really made it sound like you've never seen an ocean floor before."

"And you have?"

"Yes, actually. Why do you think I'm able to do any of the things I've been doing today." 

That answer caught Light off-guard, unable to think of a situation where Watari would let L end up in a similar scenario to the one they were in now, "When?"

"Tragic backstory (TM)." Ryuzaki shrugged, "You don't need to know the details."

"No, I think I do." Light replied, "Because I can't imagine Watari would—"

"Not Watari," L snapped, harsher than expected, "Don't insult him by even suggesting that." 

Light paused, realizing that whatever Ryuzaki was referring to had to do with his parents. He didn't know much about Ryuzaki's childhood, just that he left his parents at a young age, and Watari took him in. He had assumed Ryuzaki's parents and died in an accident or something, but the way Ryuzaki had said Watari being involved with this situation in the past was an insult implied Ryuzaki's parents were abusive, had Watari saved L from that? 

Even with his pride, Light knew he wouldn't get an answer now, and it was time to back down. But he vowed he would get those answers eventually.

As he ate his own food and watched the waves, he smiled as he felt himself relaxing, starting to think that maybe their situation wasn't hopeless. As long as they had food, they should be fine...

Oh, shit, they needed water. 

"Ryuzaki," he asked, "Do you have a water purifier or know how to purify seawater?" Ryuzaki turned,

"There's a water purifier in one of the bags, and one water bottle in each bag." Light dug in the bags and pulled out a moderately sized water purifier, and scooped some seawater into it, waiting for the liquid to be drinkable. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty thirsty.

Ryuzaki was pulling the raft slightly further inland, but since it was bigger now, Light had to help him, "The ocean's getting a bit rougher. But hopefully, it will die down before morning."

"How long would you say we have until sunset?" Light asked, then both he and Ryuzaki glared when they heard Ryuk singing horribly off-key,

_"Yo ho! Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me!"_

"I would say we have an hour until there is no sun left, give or take ten minutes," Ryuzaki replied. "I recommend going and looking for enough firewood to last the night, so we can actually sleep without fear of the fire going out and us freezing to death."

Without question, Light obeyed, shuddering when he realized it was getting darker by the second. He wasn't the type to enjoy camping, so this was far out of his comfort zone.

 _This is getting scarier by the second. I'm actually pretty terrified right now. Stay calm, don't let L see any signs of fear—shut it, Ryuk, you're giving me away!_ His Shinigami had decided to follow him with the laughing and the terrible singing.

After grabbing enough wood to hopefully last the night, Light came back, at this point his ego was so bruised there would be no recovering. Kira, God of the New World, had to rely on L, the sugar-addict detective who rarely left his current place of residence, to survive.

Almost as soon as he had put the wood down, Ryuzaki had tossed him a retractable fishing rod and a piece of the leftover crab meat. It was clear Ryuzaki had no intention of letting Light get away with not pulling his weight. 

It was a miracle that Light actually caught something within forty-five minutes. Even better, it was a catfish big enough to feed them both. Not ridiculously large, but it would serve as breakfast or late-night snack.

"I got a fish!" Light called, picking it up and gripping it, waiting for the thing to suffocate because he wasn't currently near any rocks far enough away from water, meaning the slimy creature could squirm back into the water.

Ryuzaki turned, "Well, I'm glad you caught—is that a catfish?!"

"Yes."

"Why are you spooning a catfish!?"

"I'm waiting for it to die. Then I'm going to eat it, either for breakfast or later tonight, I don't know yet." Ryuzaki put a hand on his hip,

"Do you know how to skin it, or debone it, or anything really associated with killing the animal to eat?"

"I know how to kill things." Light offered, and Ryuzaki sighed,

"Then do you know stabbing the fish will make it less likely for it to squirm out of your arms and back into the water? Here, take this knife." He handed Light a knife, and Light stared at it,

"You didn't give this to me before?!"

"Because you're Kira. However, it has come to my attention that you have no idea what you are doing. Therefore I am in no danger of being killed by you when I turn around since I am your only hope of survival at this time. And... I have finished the sail." Light stabbed the fish in the eye—shamelessly pretending it was a criminal so he could get a little joy out of watching the fish die—and then turned to the sail, gaping at how it actually looked like a sail.

"Can you rotate it? "

"Yes, just be careful while doing so, it's not extremely sturdy yet. But we will set sail in the morning, and we will be on the way." They both sat down at the fire, as Ryuzaki taught Light how to get, skin, and debone the fish.

Ryuk watched, "And so, L and Light embark on a quest to get home. Will they be able to stand to be next to their nemesis for long periods? Will they go insane, or will love blossom on the high seas? 

Light looked up at Ryuk, "Ryuk, stop narrating."


	2. Chapter 2

"Light-Kun, can you do some fishing?" Ryuzaki asked a couple hours after they had set sail again, "We need more food, and I don't know when we will find another island." Light grabbed some of the catfish meat from last night and put it on the hook, tossing it in the water and hoping they wouldn't lure a shark.

Not far above them, Ryuk was searching for islands and had taken to singing Running Wild's "Under Jolly Roger" at the top of his lungs. For the life of him, Light could not figure out how or why Ryuk knew so many pirate songs but didn't know the proper key. At this rate, they were going to die from their ears bleeding before anything else. Judging by the look on Ryuzaki's face, he agreed. 

Every now and then, Ryuzaki would put his hand in the water as though checking something, then get back to making sure the sail remained going in the right direction. For the most part, they sat in silence while doing this. 

"What do we need next for the raft?" Light asked as he waited for something to bite the hook,

"Bigger, firstly, and then we need to either weave or find some nets to make traps of the sort for fish. Hopefully, we can locate an island, I can teach you to swim, collect resources from underwater, and maybe kill a shark while we're at it. Because bones and meat will be useful."

"How are we going to do that?" Light asked worriedly, already seeing the gears turning in L's head for a plan that might work but also might kill them both.

"Well, I have these wooden spears, and these knives and axes," he gestured to Light's backpack he had brought, which was the unspoken home of the small weapons, including the Death Note. The spears were next to that bag, "Which will do well in killing things that try to eat us."

Light looked nervously down at the water, dreading the idea of Ryuk swimming around to mess with them. Could the Shinigami swim? He didn't know and decided he would rather live his life never finding out, "I don't particularly want to fight a shark." Ryuzaki raised an eyebrow at him,

"Why are you so scared of sharks when you can stare at Ryuk for long periods, and doesn't he share your bed?"

"I'm not afraid of sharks."

"There's one biting the raft."

Light jumped up, "Well, don't just stand there!" He inched a little closer to Ryuzaki and hoped the detective hadn't noticed. But the smirk on his face said he had. Light turned and saw no such shark was eating the raft, and he glared as menacingly as he could, not that Ryuzaki even blinked. He was not impressed. 

"If we are going to fight and kill a shark, we're not luring them in, and it will have to be closer to an island because that way I can attempt to beach it, and we don't want its blood or ours attracting any more sharks. 

"I see something!" Ryuk called from above them. Both men turned to look at what the Shinigami was seeing and brightened when they saw rocks. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

L had deduced about an hour prior that they were closer to the Japan area than anything else. Japan had 6,852 islands defined as land more than a hundred meters in circumference, of which 430 were inhabited. If they were closer to Japan, that meant they might be able to bounce from island to island until they reached civilization.

"We're going to miss it," Ryuzaki said somberly, "The wind isn't blowing in that direction, and the current isn't going to be helping us." Ryuk flew down closer to them, in such a way it looked like he was standing on the water,

"I can help with that." Light was puzzled by that,

"You can?"

"Yup. After all, seeing you two on the boat has grown boring, and seeing Light-o learn to swim of going to be _much_ more interesting."

"At least that's one way to make you helpful," Ryuzaki muttered under his breath in such a way that made it hard to tell if he was annoyed or using his usual monotone lack-of-fucks-to-give voice. 

"And apples." Light added, "That was how I got Ryuk to locate all the cameras. He was searching for a blindspot to eat his apples." Then he narrowed his eyes, "Sixty-four in my room, Ryuzaki, _really_?"

"What? It was _your_ father who insisted I not leave any blind spots." He looked up at Ryuk, "But apples work as a bribe... that's interesting to know." Light decided he was coming to dread seeing those gears spinning in L's head when the Death Note or Ryuk was involved.

Light yelped as Ryuk dove into the water and picked up the entire raft, flying in the direction of land. He went slow enough that no objects or people would fly off, but fast enough that they needed to hold onto something. 

This island was actually just a couple bounders on top of a sandbar and a couple trees, and bamboo, but it would do. There were also a couple white flowers.

L smirked a little at Light, before backflipping into the water. 

Light heard Ryuk laugh as he set the raft down, "I think he's just showing off now."

"No, he's rubbing it in my face that he can do something I can't." Seeing how many hotels L stayed at, Light didn't find it hard to believe Ryuzaki could swim. And there was that little tidbit that this wasn't the first time he had been in a situation like this, and it was pre-Watari. How old had L been? Scratch that, Light just realized he didn't know how old Ryuzaki was at all. Judging by his appearance, Light would say Ryuzaki was in his late teens or early twenties, but who even knew. Intelligence was no way to gauge this since they were both super geniuses beyond their years.

L emerged out of the water, holding a fish that probably hadn't expected a human to appear out of the sky and grab it. 

"Ryuzaki, how old are you?" Light asked, "I just realized I have no idea."

L smiled a little as he grabbed an ax to decapitate the fish, "Twenty-five today."

"Wait, it's your birthday?!" Also, L was a bit older than Light had expected. Ryuzaki nodded,

"Yes, Halloween. Ironic, that the world's greatest detective was born the same night crime runs rampant, and the culprits rarely caught because they hide behind a mask." Light sighed, knowing L had a point. He also marveled at how much had changed in such a short amount of time. Three days ago, they captured Higuchi. Yesterday, they crashed in this goddamn ocean. So many things had happened, the days had started to blend together, and Light was surprised Ryuzaki had kept track.

He laughed a little, but it was more out of exasperation that humor, "This is quite the way to celebrate a birthday."

"I don't usually celebrate. But you asked how old I am, and there's no real reason for me to keep that secret, so I might as well be accurate." He dug into the weapons bag, "Would you like an ax?"

"I would love an ax, I've never used one before."

"That's surprising with how homicidal you are. But you're going to get a chance to use it because we need wood to make the ship even bigger." Ryuzaki gestured to the water, "Also, there is a shark nearby, and while we could wait for it to go away, it could also be useful as both food and materials. So I'm going to swim out there in search of rocks and such, and if it attacks me, I'll kill it."

"Isn't killing sharks illegal?"

"Only some species, but so is killing people, and yet here you are, Kira-Kun. Besides, we would be considered a special case, seeing as surviving is more important. And there's nobody to witness us except for Ryuk." He walked into the water, "If I'm not back in a few minutes, I'm in desperate need of assistance." Then he went under.

Light looked up at Ryuk, "I know you can't tell me his lifespan, but is he going to die down there?" Ryuk laughed in response, and Light sat on a rock, waiting for Ryuzaki to come up for air. 

He checked his watch, which miraculously still worked. Two minutes. How long could someone usually hold their breath? Was L better at that than anyone else?

Even if he wanted to help L—and seeing as L was the one who was better at surviving, he reluctantly _did_ want to help—he couldn't swim, so all he would be able to do is provide a distraction for a shark and die horribly. 

Ryuzaki was in trouble, there was no way he wasn't. He had been down there for three minutes. Ryuk watched Light as fear made itself known, "Are you worried about him, Light-o?"

"Yeah, I am! He's the one who knows how to sail! Ryuzaki!" He shouted as thought that would get a reaction. That bastard could have decided to screw with him and had emerged behind a rock just out of sight.

Mere moments later, a head of black hair appeared out of the water, and he seemed to be dragging something judging by the way he moved. Light waited until Ryuzaki got close enough to the shallow water to walk over and help him carry whatever he had been dragging, but it wasn't a shark as expected. 

It was a blue.... chest? It was covered in barnacles and moss, but it was still identifiable as a form of container.

Ryuzaki was on his hands and knees, coughing up seawater before taking greedy gulps of air, "That was a mistake," he said softly once he had his breathing under control, "I haven't held my breath that long in a while." He stood up on shaky knees, and he shivered, probably because he had been in the ocean in mid-to-late autumn, meaning the water was _cold_.

Light looked down at the thing, unable to believe Ryuzaki had scared the crap out of him for this piece of junk, "Explain, please!" He said a little angrier than was probably justified, "What is this?"

"It's a cooler," Ryuzaki replied, opening it to reveal it was empty. Ryuk made noises of disappointment,

"No treasure?"

"Sadly, no. I was looking for seaweed and various plants when I saw this a little farther out. The shark wasn't bothering me, so I wanted to investigate."

Light was not as pleased with this discovery as Ryuzaki seemed to be. He was still bitter Ryuzaki had risked his life for something that wouldn't help them at all.

"Ryuzaki, what was the point of getting this? Not only did you put yourself in danger, but there is no use to have this."

"On the contrary, Light-Kun. It is a cooler, meant to keep this cool, like food." He went into one of the bags, where they had been keeping the catfish remains, plopped it in the cooler, then added some seawater in with it, "Help me put this on the raft." Light helped him, and they set it next to the sail in the center of the boat. 

Ryuzaki also dug his water bottle out of the bag and drank the water before wringing out his hair, "Take off your clothes."

" _What_?!"

"Come on, it'll be fun." When Light didn't budge, L put a hand on his hip, "Quickly, or I'll have to carry you." Light looked at the water and bit his lip. "Are you considering that option?"

"What?! Don't be insane. I'm coming… but you just asked me to strip."

"I meant your shirt and shoes off. Pants too if you don't want them wet." Ryuzaki replied as though telling Light to get his mind out of the gutter, "I'm teaching you to swim now." Light was pretty much immune to the embarrassment of stripping in front of Ryuzaki, so he pulled off his shirt, but decided to keep on his jeans. 

"You'll probably drown us." Light said, then noticed Ryuzaki was barefoot, realizing now that those feet were exceptionally callused. He had taken note of this back when they were handcuffed together for months but hadn't thought much of it, assuming that L would have calluses from not wearing shoes very often. 

Ryuzaki gave an odd little giggle, and Light had a feeling he was being mocked, "While you're with me that can't happen. And if you doubt me so much, let's find out who's right. You're lucky to have me." He started walking in the water, but Light remained still, earning a smirk from L.

"Aww. Are you scared, Princess? A little water won't kill you." Princess?! Who was this person, and what had they done with L?! First, he has a joking side, and now this!

"It's God of the New World, not a princess." Light snapped, trying to pull away. "And I'm _not_ scared."

"Is this because I didn't kill the shark? I'm not going to attack it if it didn't make the first move. You of all people should know I don't _start_ physical fights. Come on, we need to do this before there's a storm and you get thrown off the raft." He gestured to the raft in question and its distinct lack of guard rails.

Suddenly, he yanked Light into his arms and began to carry him out into the water. Light cried out in surprise and tried to squirm away, but to no avail. Ryuzaki set Light down when they were about to their chests in the water. 

Light already felt like he was being suffocated, and his head wasn't even under. He was barely content to stand still, preferring being on land. And it was way too cold for his liking, and he could already feel his pants drenched with the icy liquid.

A little nudge from Ryuzaki had him fall over, fully submerged. He flailed for a moment, until Ryuzaki's hand grabbed his waist, pulling Light into his arms for a moment and helping steady him.

"Flailing won't do you any good. I'm not great at teaching, so can you watch and learn?" Light nodded a little, trying to get back to shallow water, where he could stand. He was shivering and wondered how Ryuzaki wasn't but supposed Ryuzaki had been underwater for longer, so he had had time to adjust. 

It didn't take long for Light to get a basic idea of how to swim, as in not drowning, but he was nowhere near ready to go under the surface, and especially not open his eyes, but at that point both of their lips were blue, and it wasn't wise to stay in the water any longer.

L held his pants over the fire, wearing nothing except his boxers to cover his legs. He was beginning to tremble, and Light was quick to grab some watermelon for him to munch on so he didn't collapse.

"T-Thanks." Despite himself, Light knew L was significantly colder than him and closer to hypothermia, so he gave L his jacket and helped dry both their jeans while cooking that fish Ryuzaki had caught earlier.

_"There were two lofty ships from old England came,_

_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;_

_One was the Prince of Luther, and the other Prince of Wales,_

_Cruising down along the coast of the High Barbaree."_

Light glared hatefully at Ryuk, before tossing the annoying Shinigami an Akebi to make him shut up. 

"Oh come on, Light," Ryuk complained, "This isn't nearly as juicy as apples."

"It's all we've got because Ryuzaki needs the watermelon to keep his blood sugar up. Damnit, L, why did you need to eat sweets for every meal? We wouldn't need to constantly worry about this if you didn't."

"Because everything else tastes bitter." Was L's quiet answer, and it confused Light.

"Bitter? Was the fish bitter?" Ryuzaki nodded wordlessly, eating the watermelon and hugging Light's jacket tighter around him. And Light raised a quizzical eyebrow because the fish certainly hadn't been bitter. It had been a little salty for Light's taste, but not _bitter_. But he knew L wasn't the type to misuse the word, meaning he was tasting something odd in all food. Was it the stress of working dark cases that had taken the form of a warped sense of taste? 

After about five more minutes, Ryuzaki put his mostly dry jeans on and handed Light his own pants. 

"We might stay here for the next day," L said, "To collect resources, help you with swimming, fish, and looking at the sky, it may rain, and I don't want to sail in that weather."

"Neither do I," Light agreed, "But does that mean we have to build a shelter?"

"Most likely, because pneumonia would be disastrous. But we'll do that in the morning. For now, we should get sleep." He laid down, and Light sighed,

"If you're not dying, can I have my jacket back?" L tossed him the jacket and then was immediately asleep.

Light wasn't sure what unnerved him more. L sleeping, or Ryuk cackling like a maniac while watching them.


	3. Chapter 3

Light woke up to the surprisingly pleasant smell of sea air, and it took him a moment to remember the exact reason for that. As his brain booted up, he opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a crab. He shrieked, suddenly fully awake, and grabbed the ax next to him, cutting the creature in half. Damn... he also had sand in places he really didn't want sand to be.

"Have a good sleep, Princess?" Light glared in Ryuzaki's direction,

"I thought we were done with the Princess thing."

"And what gave you that idea, Light-Kun?" L taunted, picking up the crab parts, "At least I can rely on you for killing things, but can I trust you to actually cook it is the question." Light crossed his arms, not wanting to admit he probably couldn't be trusted.

"Princess ends when we get back to civilization," he snapped, "Then we are mortal enemies again." L pouted, but it was clearly more taunting than anything,

"And here I was, hoping that maybe we could be friends." 

"That's a lie, and we both know it."

"Fine," L put down the bamboo he was working with, "Now help me with this shelter," he gestured to the makeshift hut he was making, which was unexpectedly well-made, "There's a storm coming. I already took down the sail so it won't blow away."

"How long have you let me sleep?"

"I've been awake for about two hours. But I remember how cranky you got when I woke you up, and that was before you got your memories back. For the sake of our mutual survival, I thought it best to let you sleep."

Light turned and didn't see Ryuk, "Where's Ryuk?"

"I told him that the sooner we make it to civilization, the sooner he can have apples. So he's out scouting to see in which direction we have to sail to make it to a city where we can call for Watari to, you know, save us." He sat down on a rock and started braiding long leaves together and then using that kinda-rope on some bamboo.

"What are you doing?" Light asked, and L looked up,

"Almost like a surfboard, so I can have something to grip onto when I come up for air after searching for more stuff in the water. Because we need supplies. You bring stuff into the hut." He put the bamboo-board on the water and went swimming out. Light watched the detective vanish under the surface after a moment. Then he went towards the 'hut' crawling inside and realizing there had actually been a mini-cave in one of the boulders, so L was essentially adding an awning just in case it rained at an angle. That was actually clever. But there wasn't much space, meaning the two of them would probably be touching or pressed against each other. He instantly didn't like the idea, but what choice would they have?

Crawling out, he grabbed the bags and the cooler off the raft and brought them in, shivering as he felt a breeze pick up, and he saw the clouds had darkened. Goosebumps prickled on his skin, and he turned back to where Ryuzaki was and saw his head above the water, and he had some things on the board.

"Ryuzaki! Come on back!" He called, and he saw Ryuzaki looked up and started pulling the board back, and had lots of various things, including a bunch of rocks. Light then noticed a seagull and crept over to it and killed it with the ax. It let out an indignant squawk before being silenced forever. Light picked up the bird carcass triumphantly. No way was he going to be useless, Ryuzaki could collect things, but he could provide the food one way or another.

Ryuk also came back around the same time Ryuzaki dragged the board onto land.

"Well," the Shinigami announced, "I went as far as I'm allowed to, and I didn't find any civilization."

"How far would you say that is?" L asked, and Ryuk shrugged,

"Fourteen kilometers, give or take."

"Alright, so that doesn't mean we're screwed," L said, and Light held up the bird he was in the middle of plucking,

"Would you like some drumsticks, Ryuzaki?" Ryuzaki turned,

"Why yes, I would love some Kentucky fried seagull." He clapped his hands together, "Alright, of all the things we need, an anchor is crucial. This means we need to build one."

"But how are we going to do that?" Light asked, but Ryuk was the one who answered,

"You two are geniuses, figure it out." Light sent him a dirty look, but at least he wasn't singing sea shanties at the moment. He went back to trying to make the bird edible, but at this point, the wind was blowing his hair, so he knew it would be an eventual lost cause. He noticed L was working on moving the sail to safety and was almost humming,

"Da da da da..."

"Why are you humming the _Addams Family_ theme song?" L looked up with an expression as though Light had just solved the secrets of the universe,

" _That's_ what that is? Bits and pieces have been stuck in my head for hours, and it was driving me insane." 

They worked for an unknown amount of time on their various jobs in silence until Light winced when he felt a raindrop on his head, glad he had woken up on his own and not to rain. 

"Come on, Ryuzaki, we should get in the shelter. You're wet." He grabbed the wood and brought it into the shelter, glad it was just deep enough that they would have space for a small fire without danger of it burning up the rest of the hut. He also used the rocks to keep it contained, and spent a moment trying to start a fire before Ryuzaki crawled in and started one, jumping a bit when the flame suddenly sparked and singed a bit of the hair on his arms.

Light looked outside the shelter and saw the rain already picking up, then he saw Ryuzaki was curling up next to the fire, trying to warm himself. Light felt a slight pulling in his chest, seeing L looking cold and pitiful, but while he was partially laughing that karma was a real bitch, there was another part of him that hated seeing L like that. 

He didn't know what had possessed him to do it, but he pulled L close, "Body heat. We can't have you dying yet." He could feel every single spot Ryuzaki's body made contact with his, and it felt both cold from the water still dripping off Ryuzaki, but also caused momentary sparks under his skin.

"Thanks, Light," L whispered, and Light had no response. 

OoOoO

"It's been three days, where are they?!" Soichiro demanded an answer from Watari, who was searching at any airport in the area for their respective sons. On the first day, they figured the flight was just longer. The second day had them wondering if the plane landed at the wrong airport. By the third day, they were afraid something had gone wrong.

Matsuda was pacing, Misa was crying, afraid Light was dead. Aizawa and Mogi were exchanging worried looks with each other, fearing something had happened to the two brilliant minds. Rem was concerned but also excited. If the two were dead, then Misa was in no danger, and Light Yagami wouldn't corrupt her. It was a win-win in Rem's book.

Watari made a few phone calls, becoming paler and paler as he went. Until he typed furiously and looked ready to collapse, in tears, "T-The plane..."

"What?" Matsuda asked, "What about the plane?"

"According to the GPS, it crashed in the ocean three days ago. Ryuzaki would have prepared for a situation like this, but..."

"LIGHT!" Soichiro screamed at the top of his lungs and then fainted.


	4. Chapter 4

The storm lasted hours, and at some point, Light had fallen asleep curled up next to L, trying to maintain as much heat as possible, which was more relaxed with the small fire inside the camp with him. 

But by the time the storm ended, it was nightfall. Ryuzaki looked around and checked the wind, putting all the bags back on the raft,

"Alright. The rain won't be back. Light, I need some help putting the sail back up." 

Light had no idea how exactly he could help but obediently followed. But his ego was reminding him that it was an insult to be relying on L, so he needed to learn some skills fast.

"Teach me to sail." L narrowed his eyes,

"So you can go on ahead and ditch me on an island somewhere? And it's called wayfinding."

Light's brow furrowed, deciding to ignore the accusation, "Wayfinding?"

"Getting to your destination by knowing where you are and where you've been. I chart stars as a hobby and have memorized them, which comes in handy." He looked up at the stars, "Master navigators began by calibrating their positions according to celestial objects, such as the sun, the moon, and constellations. Stars rise in the East and set in the West. First, choose an initial set of stars and constellations, which you knew will eventually set on specific points on the horizon."

Light wasn't entirely sure what he was referring to, so he listened intently, sitting on the raft and watching, determined to collect as much data as he could.

"When faced with challenges regarding the obstruction of their view of the sky, navigators resorted to their observations of other directional indicators to orient themselves." L continued to explain, "By referencing waves and ocean swells or by observing individual birds, navigators could find any indication of their proximity to land."

"So you're looking for changes?"

"Yes. There are two particular changes used when observing the ocean itself. The first is ocean waves. Waves are ignited by local winds, which are winds that are confined to small spatial areas that range from a few miles to a hundred miles in width. Waves were increasingly useful directional indicators when embarking on inter-island travels. But most reference swells during long-distance voyages because they were not easily influenced by abrupt changes in wind patterns. The endurance of swells can last from a week to a month. Their consistency is what allows them to be exceptional directional indicators."

"You also used the fruit and wildlife earlier to get a feel for us being closer to Japan."

"Exactly. Birds are a good indicator. Come on, get up. Unless you're in the mood to learn to swim underwater in the middle of the night, we should take advantage of the peace and get going. I can work at night. If you really want to sail, I'll teach you. Actually, having you know how to do this will come in handy, so I won't have to pull allnighters in the event we don't find an island."

"Can't we just use Ryuk as a navigator?" Light asked, and L shrugged, 

"We could, but who knows how reliable that is? Ryuk could send us in circles for his own amusement. Besides, assuming he honestly can only leave within fourteen kilometers of us, that won't help locate much for the majority of the time." He got off the raft and pushed it into the water and hopped on.

"Why do you know how to do this?" Light once again asked, "It's been driving me insane, but what happened to you that gave you this skill?"

"It's been driving you insane?" L put a long finger under his chin, thoughtfully, "But Kira-Kun, you already are insane."

"Not yet, I'm not," he glowered, "And if you think I am, do you want to make it worse?!"

L seemed to genuinely ponder this for all of two seconds, but for some reason, while it was clear he had come to a conclusion near-instantly, he hesitated before saying, "You need me, so it doesn't matter. And if it did reach a point you are a danger to yourself and me, I can ditch you somewhere." He walked over and pulled on some ropes, and Light was flabberghasted,

"L, do you really think I'm going to be digging through newspapers from probably along the lines of _at least_ fifteen years ago to find one somewhere in the world with a situation matching whatever happened?"

"That right there is a reason I hadn't thought of before for why I shouldn't have told you my age." He said this matter-of-factly and went back to tying a fancy knot.

"Ryuzaki," Light realized something, "Is this really about protecting your identity?" L looked up, dark eyes unreadable and reflecting the stars in the sky.

"Light, you forget a considerable detail about us, so allow me to remind you. Even if right now we are allies, we are enemies. It is my job to bring you to justice, and you, as a self-proclaimed God, see me as a sinner for standing in your way and wish for me to be sent to hell or however your religion works. This means even if the events of my past won't lead you to my identity, why should I trust you with that information?"

"Then why didn't you leave me on that plane to drown?" Light snapped, "I was frozen until you gave me something to do and dragged me off the plane. You chose to not let me die."

"That's because at that moment I still had hoped we were friends. Such a shame that you proved me wrong."

"Are you sure?" They both looked up from their argument and saw Ryuk flying above them in a sitting position, "I don't know about you two, but as an observer, I've picked up many details. You both are in it for the game, but do either of you actually want the other to die?"

"It's my job," L said, and Ryuk played another card.

"Would you watch him be led to the gallows and have the floor drop out under him?" Light was taken aback, having it said like that made a sudden spike of fear shoot through him. But he was also curious about what L's answer would be.

And it seemed L was equally taken aback by the question, "I never have with anyone else. Why would this be any different?" He replied, "And what does that have to do with anything right now?"

"I'm saying," Ryuk drew out the next words as though talking to stubborn toddlers, "Are you really enemies?"

"We have two contrasting goals, which end in the other's death," Light said, "Generally, yes, that means enemies."

"Now, imagine a world without the other person in it, now that you've met them." Light didn't know what Ryuk was getting at, but as long as he wasn't singing sea shanties, Light felt himself having a silent agreement they would humor the Shinigami for however long he desired.

They sat in silence before Light found himself admitting, "It sounds rather boring." But in his mind, he also realized he had only been Kira for a week before L was thrown into his life. Everything he had become had L there with him almost every step of the way. So being Kira without him, while it would be easier to obtain his ascension to godhood, sounded incredibly dull.

And what L had said about "however the hell your religion works" also got him thinking. He had never gotten time to think about it. But the aspect of religion and having a cult following, while appealing, could very quickly turn itself on its head, and the Kira worshippers could become the very thing Light swore to destroy. Human sacrifice was something he was _really_ against, but was beginning to fear might start happening. If people knew about the Death Note, everything would be ruined. But if they didn't, they'd start making up whatever they wanted to use religion to their own gain. He could already picture Demegawa using Kira as a method of getting money.

As much as he hated to admit it, a single throwaway comment from L had made him realize a serious issue he hadn't truly contemplated before. But the damn detective was never going to learn that.

He felt L's hands holding his and was about to ask what the hell he was doing when L sat him down and started guiding his hands into tying a knot in the rope. Oh, just knot-tying lessons.

Light would never admit to anyone, not even himself, that he was the tiniest bit disappointed that was all.


	5. Chapter 5

"There's still nothing on the horizon." Light observed the front of the boat while Ryuzaki did the steering. They had been up all through the night and were both tired, but since L was the one used to not sleeping, Light was put in charge of the watch, just in case he did fall asleep, "I do not see anything, Ryuzaki."

L walked to the front of the ship and pointed directly in front of them, "That's the sun, Light-Kun." 

"Hahaha," Light fake-laughed, then muttered under his breath, "Fall into the ocean, you fuck." Louder, he said, "Sorry, I just figured that wasn't something you were referring to."

"It just means we're headed east." Ryuzaki looked up and saw Ryuk circling above and grabbed himself some watermelon. They did have to be careful as the raft rocked with them both in the front. Thankfully, with most of the supplies in the back, it evened things out decently. "The sea is surprisingly calm for this time of year, but there is drift everywhere, which probably means we will be coming up on something shortly."

"You can tell by the drift?"

"Well," L stuck his hand in the water, feeling around a little, "Yes, but its the surprisingly civilization-based debris that is interesting to me." Light brightened, knowing there was a chance this hell was over. But then he deflated, remembering he still couldn't be Kira again without getting caught, and L's death would be less pleasant since there were so many unanswered questions that would haunt him.

And for some reason, L pointing out they were enemies had hurt a little. He had no idea why, but it created an unpleasant pain in Light's chest. And then reminding him, they had been friends without his memories had made it worse.

His mind wandered back to the whole religion issue that had been brought up last night, realizing he would need to create some sort of bible. But then people would find ways to use the slightest of comments to promote sexism or some shit if the Christians were any indicator. Religious fanatics were something Light actually detested and only now realized he was probably going to be creating some, and honestly, the thought scared him. Sure, they lived in a meme culture, where people will throw around the name for jokes—and that was something Light saw as only ever getting worse—but he had just wanted to rule from the shadows and spend his time as civilian Light Yagami merely enjoying what he had built. He just wanted supporters but was quickly realizing that in being God, he would create fanatics who sacrifice children to their "God."

He wasn't sure it was a blessing or a curse that L brought this very destructive issue to the surface with the slightest of comments. But this had no place in his perfect world, and he'd have to find a way to remedy the situation while still keeping an amount of secrecy to him.

He snapped out of it when he heard L announce, "I think I see something!" and move the sail left. It took a moment, but Light saw something in the distance, trapped between rocks, and when his eyes told his brain what he was seeing, he looked up in shock at Ryuzaki,

"What is that?! Is that what I think it is!?"

"If what you think that is, Light-Kun, is a shipwreck, then I guess you're right." Ryuzaki looked it over, "Surprisingly modern, which worries me."

"Why would it worry you?"

"Why would a modern ship crash?"

"Why would our modern _plane_ crash?"

Ryuzaki gave a small nod in acknowledgment, "Touché." He weaved the raft closer and looked up. This shipwreck seemed to be what used to be a tiny cargo ship of the sort, "Alright, I see a back entrance, maybe we can climb aboard. If we're lucky, there might be a few survivors, and we can get a radio working on getting us out of here. Even if everyone's dead or gone in there, the same still applies."

"I don't care, I'm going to the ship." Light noticed a latter and jumped onto the rock they were closest to, and tried to think of a way to get it down, before tossing up the grappling hook—failing and very nearly knocking himself upside the head many times—and got a grip on it, pulling down the latter to climb up. At that point, his arms were incredibly sore, and he had to rest for a moment before getting the strength to climb all the way up, seeing an open door.

"Ryuzaki, there's a door." But he found his feet glued to the ground as he waited for Ryuzaki to climb up the latter. _Crap, am I scared? I can go in without him!_ He heard Ryuk's laughter and glared up at the Shinigami, forcing himself to take a few steps forward.

"I'm here," L said as he got up, "So let's go. But first, we need to gauge what our goal is. Are we going in there to actually discover some other life and find a solution to our problem? Or are we going in there to maybe stir the pot a little bit more and leave a disaster behind?

"I love a little stirring," Ryuk replied, and L rolled his eyes,

"I know you do, Ryuk, that's why I was asking—crap, where'd Light go?"

Light, meanwhile, had used sheer willpower to force himself to walk around inside the abandoned cargo ship and shuddered anxiously at how dark it was. He nearly shrieked when he felt a hand on his shoulder and whirled around, only to see Ryuzaki was the one standing behind him.

"Relax, I have cut up part of the backpack's interior, where it made separate pockets. And I have a dry stick, so I have made myself a torch."

Light looked in the corner, "There's a lever here." He pulled it, and a small lightbulb turned on, somewhat lighting the room.

"Oh, it turned the ceiling-light on." L lowered his hand, which held the lighter, which he had been about to use on the torch, "Now I don't need to waste resources." He looked around before his eyes widened, and he looked like a child on Christmas, "There's metal! Sweet, I might be able to heat this up and the next island and make us an anchor!"

"L, why do you know how to do this?" Light asked again, hoping at least that would get an answer.

Much to Light's disappointment, Ryuzaki's answer was: "Just assume unless stated otherwise that the answer is tragic backstory TM." He dug into a box, "Oh! I found food. It looks like in this box, there is some old mackerel. But seeing as we don't know how long this has been here, I would say it would be best to not eat the food found here."

Light was also looking around and noticed a door with some stairs going up on the other side. Walking up, he found what seemed to be a bedroom, probably for the people who had been handling this place. But there were no skeletons to be found, and that was good. "Ryuzaki! There's stuff up here!"

Ryuzaki came up and was holding a large bag, beginning to put stuff, namely metal objects, inside, "Yes, there is. This metal will be very useful, and all these crates even more so. We can get all the stuff into the boat, and I might be able to heat it up, bend it, and make the raft sturdier. And we can make an anchor. This is good, very good," he dug into a trunk, "and these bolts make it even better. We'll have to stop at an island and make an even better boat! And now our technological advancements can... well... advance. I want to find a landmass with people on it as soon as humanly possible. Light, help me get this stuff onto the rocks next to the raft, and I'll maneuver it as needed, so we don't sink under the weight."

Together, they managed to create a mechanism to safely lower all the supplies they had looted and dropped it. Ryuk caught the stuff and placed it on the rock and sand. Then they looked to each other before jumping into the water since it wasn't far enough of a jump to be damaging.

"Woah, how did we do that?" Light asked, looking up at the mechanism they had made, and this amazingly safe landing which, while not deadly in itself, could have ended badly.

"Magic." L replied.

"No, for real."

"Skill."

"Definitely not that one." 

But Ryuzaki was ignoring him, swimming around, "There's stuff on the floor around here. This place is shallow, so we could always stay here for a bit, except a fire needed to bend the metal would be risky. Ryuk, scout for an island. I found some apples up here. A little on the old side, but should suffice." he tossed the brownish apple to Ryuk, who spat it out, but this clearly was intentional by L, who was sending a message that they wouldn't be finding any apples until they were back on land.

"Ay, Ay, Captain." Ryuk took off into the sky and flew away at top speeds. Even if it was just looting, Light had to admit he had honestly enjoyed himself and had liked working together with L towards a common goal. Maybe he could find a way to turn L to his side? Or at least have him drop the case. But having him as an ally would be ideal.

Otherwise, Light knew L would have to die. But something had changed since they crashed in the godforsaken ocean four days ago, and Light had seen the detective in a new way, and now he wasn't sure he would be able to write down that name. Well, Rem would do it. But Light wondered if he would be able to accept that.

Then he decided that he would be able to once he got those bloody answers from Ryuzaki about how the hell he knew this stuff.

"Liar," Ryuk said with a laugh, having unexpectedly returned, and Light realized he had been staring at a once again shirtless Ryuzaki. "You can't fool yourself this time."

"Shut up."

...

L, in the last day, had noticed Light was acting strange. Not aggressive or really all too Kira-like. If he didn't know better, he would say something had changed for him. It would probably go back to normal when they got back to civilization.

It was painful to know that his first real friend was guaranteed to be a deranged serial killer, but it also felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest, knowing that the Light Yagami he was talking to right now was the real one, not any of the dozens of masks. Sure, without memories, Light had been a friend, but that man hadn't been the one L had befriended initially.

What Ryuk had said about watching Light die and a world without him still rang through his ears, though. And both the image of Light dangling from a noose or being locked up and the thought of a world without that friendship, no matter delicate, made him feel extremely unhappy.

He noticed Light was staring at him with an almost dreamy smile, clearly lost in thought, before being snapped out of it by Ryuk. L wondered what he was thinking about, but shrugged went back to his work arranging supplies.


	6. Chapter 6

While Ryuzaki worked on putting the metal to use on the island they had landed on, Light was in charge of laundry since Ryuzaki had managed to find some new clothes and some soap, which was a relief since Light's current shirt was so sweat-soaked it wasn't even funny. And Light had never been more disappointed in his life an hour ago when Ryuzaki pointed out there was only a 0.06% chance of any one island they find being inhabited.

Once again, washing clothes was a new skill Light had to learn, because usually "doing the laundry" meant tossing everything in the washing machine. Well, that wasn't an option out in the middle of nowhere. So he was trying, and Ryuzaki came over and coached him from time to time.

A serious issue was that they were running out of fruit, and therefore sugar, meaning they both lived in constant fear that any given second L would collapse, and they both die. Right now, he seemed fine, but who knew when that would change. They had to be very careful with the fruit they had.

Instead of building a whole new boat, the metal was used to reinforce the already wooden boat and make the sail sturdier. But it was a slow process since L had nothing except scraps to protect his hand from the molten metal as he used a rock to bend it.

After finishing washing the clothes, Light wrapped a blanket around himself and waited for everything to dry on the sand. This island was more extensive than any of the others they had been on, so once he had some clothes, he would go and look for fruit and hope L didn't collapse.

The weather was overcast, so it took a while for the clothes to dry unless he wanted to get in the way of resident metal bender L, who was using the metal and new wood and bamboo around to make that boat. At this rate, they might actually have something impressive by the time civilization was reached.

Finally, his clothes were decently dry, and he put on the new clothes, noticing it was a lot easier to move in, being baggier. Suddenly he understood L's permanent clothing choice. The pants were practically falling off, but he grabbed the belt for that. Shoes, at this point, were so soaked they were overrated. Light was starting to wonder why L was just always prepared for this situation in his attire.

_Ryuzaki, what happened to you?_

He took one of the rough-fabric bags inland to collect fruit, wincing at the strange new and unpleasant feelings on the bottom of his feet, such as sticks, sand, and dirt. Eventually, he found more watermelon, mandarin oranges, and was shocked to find tons of strawberries. 

It took a moment to hoist himself up into the orange tree and use a pointy stick to get each fruit off the tree and into his bag, probably around a half-hour, with the branches scraping against his calves and forearms. Still, he managed and realized that it was no wonder Ryuzaki had abs if he had done this all alone before.

He brought back his findings and sat L was resting, looking at his shaky hands. Perfect timing then.

"I have fruit!" He then corrected himself, because he shouldn't be enthusiastic about something that would keep his sworn enemy alive. And it was just gathering the fruit of all things, nothing actually worthwhile. It was an insult to his ego that all he could do was the most menial of tasks while Ryuzaki got to do all the exciting stuff like building the boat, bending metal, and sailing. He knew Ryuzaki was trying to keep him reliant for as long as possible, but what did he expect? That stupid third act character-split-up-after-argument cliché? They already argued plenty even without Light's memories in their must-not-be-outdone-by-this-bastard battle of wits, so seriously? Maybe he just liked seeing Kira so pathetically helpless in this situation, loved being better than his enemy at something. In truth, Light was beginning to fear L was better than him at more than just this. 

Ryuzaki took the strawberries, his eyes lighting up, "Thank you, Light." And he quickly ate them. Light frowned as he noticed welts on L's hands and burns. Sure, working with hot metal was bound to do that, but Light was actually surprised Ryuzaki had let himself get hurt.

"You're hurt."

"Excellently observed, Light-Kun," L muttered sarcastically. "Alas, we have no medical supplies, unless you count the aloe vera I got off the shipwreck, but that's mostly good for sunburns—speaking of which, even though it's overcast, I'm surprised neither of us is too badly sunburned. You're just tan, and I'm me."

Light looked down at his forearms and realized that he indeed had tanned out here. L actually had a little bit too, which was strange when Light thought about it. While still extremely pale, he didn't look like a dead man walking, and he had a healthy color to his cheeks, which hadn't been there before.

He looked back at L's hands and dug into the bag, pulling out the first aid kit he had found back at the cargo ship. L gaped,

"You didn't point out we had that before?!" Light smirked, enjoying that bewildered expression on L's face, and he pointedly ignored the way the sunset highlighted his features.

"Look at that, you're reliant on me now." In truth, he had just figured L would have dug through the bag by now, but this way, he could at least pretend this was all part of a plan to get back at Ryuzaki for making him consistently reliant. Inside, he was relieved that one of his many attempts to ease his almost crippling pre-notebook boredom was to research basic medical training. 

Sometimes he wondered what his life would have been like if he hadn't picked up the notebook that fateful day. Would he have still met L? Would he spend the rest of his life trying to find something, anything to give him anything that wasn't the dangerous apathy brought on by his intellect and nothing being interesting ever? He could think of a few options he had debated more times than he would like to admit but had shooed those thoughts away because while they would hopefully solve the problem, they were also self-destructive and _stupid_.

Spending a moment to take some fresh water out of the purifier, he cleaned L's hands and then went about treating the burns.

...

L watched Light tending to his hands. Honestly, he hadn't noticed the welts until Light had pointed them out. And at this point, that look of honest caring and determination was worrisome to L, but at the same time brought forth a heat to his cheeks that he was instantly aware of and hoped his face wasn't as red as the blush he felt suggested.

Light Yagami was nothing but a puzzle. That made him interesting, and that made him unravelable. But... it seemed to be a combination puzzle or one reliant on clues, and L did not possess all the numbers and facts, though he knew where they were concealed. Light had them—they were somewhere in that brilliant young man's mind, where L couldn't get to them. And it drove the detective semi-mad. 

Light was the answer.

But Light was also the question. It went around in a loop, and until L could pull that damnable circle loose, he was stuck this way, entwined with his mortal enemy, only friend, and sole worthy opponent, who was messily yet beautifully woven all into one person.

Yes, brilliant Light—pure as gold or tainted as sin, L knew which he believed, but did it _matter_ now? The man before him, Kira, was his intellectual equal, the only one who ever had been, and L found himself magnetically pulled to him because of that. No, maybe it wasn't love, but without a doubt, there was interest, bordering on obsession at times during these months they had known each other.

But the obsession had been trying to solve the puzzle itself, and while L knew for a fact that Light was Kira and he wasn't trying to hide it anymore... but had anything really changed? Light was still just Light, not suddenly some screaming god-complex maniac. Perhaps it was because L was abusing the hell out of Light having been raised in the city and therefore had no hope of surviving on his own in the wilderness—something that wasn't his fault. Because seriously, how do you prepare for getting stranded in the middle of the ocean when you spend your whole life studying in the city? There was a chance when they got back to civilization, Light would show a darker side, but the longer they were alone together with Ryuk for company, L was genuinely starting to doubt that was the case.

He had questions, so many questions, about what made Light the way he was. For all the chief cherished his son, it was clear he didn't know him as a person. What had shaped him to be this way? But L knew that to get answers to his questions, he would have to answer some of Light's, and that was something he had no plans of his enemy knowing, even if they weren't expressing such animosity now. Had Light always had that homicidal urge? Had the Death Note shaped his mind to its whim somehow? That theory was terrifying, to think a notebook could change someone's morals and values. But that was just a hypothesis he had contemplated. There was no evidence it was the truth.

Actually, during the last few months, L had thought of many theories, including Light having an entirely different personality, Dissociative Identity Disorder. It would, in a way, work with Light being Kira subconsciously, as Light Yagami wouldn't know, but the character called Kira would. It would have explained Light's memory gaps and change in attitude while they were handcuffed together.

That idea was blown out of the water upon the notebook being discovered, and the memory loss rule revealed. But L was still wondering if Light had a less severe case or was actually just a sociopath, and this display of kindness was his way of getting into L's good graces and then backstab him.

Of course, L already suspected Light planned to use Rem to kill him, and L also knew that saying "oh, Misa's not Kira, I'm sure of it," should be enough to keep Rem out of this. He debated telling Light this to get a reaction but knew it would be more logical to keep this information to himself. 

But then L felt a little sick to his stomach and bit back a groan. Light's existence was so confusing. L knew that for the sake of the world and his own reputation, he _needed_ Kira gone, and therefore Light needed to be brought to justice. However, the thought of anything bad happening to Light was extremely upsetting when it had no right to be. 

He wondered if Light felt that same confusing emotion, and part of him hoped he did. But how does one ask that question? And Light could comfortably lie. That was the thing that made their relationship so peculiar—they couldn't trust each other in the slightest. L knew he _wanted_ to be able to trust Light, but that was something he knew would never come true.

...

Light gently used the bandage wrap, careful to not be too tight, and he noticed that either the sunset was illuminating against L's skin more than Light expected, or he was blushing, a pleasant pink color. 

L said nothing as Light worked, occasionally making tiny noises of discomfort as the only indicator he wasn't asleep. That and his wide-open mirror-like eyes, which Light could see his reflection in.

The moment of thoughtful silence after Light finished wrapping Ryuzaki's hand was ruined when Ryuk came in with a skull that looked alarmingly human attached to a stick.

"Yes! I have this now." Ryuk announced, holding his tool high in the air.

Light and L looked at Ryuk with his club-thing, then at each other with a matching expression that was a mix of horror, exasperation, and "why am I even surprised," and then back at Ryuk.

"What... the hell... is that?!" Light got out, gesturing at the skull. Ryuk looked at it and shrugged,

"You have all your tools, so why can't I have one? I don't know what this will be good for, but I'll think of something." Light rolled his eyes and saw Ryuzaki was on the boat, digging out food from a compartment he had built. 

Light looked around on the ship, seeing that this was a lot higher quality than it had any right to be given the lack of professional equipment, but it actually looked like a boat and not just the Tupperware lid Light had described it as not even a week ago.

"We're staying here for the day tomorrow." L said, "So I can finish the boat, and we can get your swimming lessons further ahead, and maybe have you sail around this island." He tossed Light some seagull, "Cook this, we need dinner."

Light turned and saw Ryuk was losing his fucking mind and was now in the middle of twisting himself into a pretzel. Ah, there were the dreaded apple withdrawals. It was a shock the Shinigami had held off until now. Maybe because they had been giving him other fruit as substitutes, but couldn't when they were low, and sugar was L's survival.

Light walked over to Ryuk and tossed an orange at him, "As long as this satisfies your withdrawals, eat up."

"Apples are better." Ryuk pouted, and Light shrugged,

"Tough luck. I'm stuck in the middle of the ocean." 

"Yeah, but you have your boyfriend here to keep you company, and _I_ am separated from my beloved apples!" 

"I'm sorry, what?!" Light was now cooking the seagull, but turned to make sure he had heard that right, "L is not my boyfriend." The detective in question had walked into the trees, probably to relieve himself.

"Not yet, he's not, but you both keep making eyes at each other and clearly have the chemistry." Light shuddered, mostly because he wasn't nearly as disgusted by that as he should be.

"I'm straight." 

"I haven't heard a whopper that big since you told people that you aren't Kira." Ryuk was mostly straightened now, "Enemies to lovers not-even-slow-burn."

Light crossed his arms, glaring, and turned back to the seagull, only to get whacked upside the head with something. He turned and saw he had been hit with the human skull on Ryuk's stick.

"Ah! You're clubbing me with some dude's head! You sick freak! What's the matter with you, Ryuk?!"

"I'm a bored Shinigami, Light-o, what do you want from me?"

Light had to admit that was a good point, but thankfully Ryuzaki, who was blissfully unaware of what Ryuk was suggesting, came back to save him from this conversation. 

"Dinner," Light took the seagull off the fire and tossed some of it to Ryuzaki, who caught it expertly, then put his shirt on and sat down.

They ate and simply somewhat-enjoyed each other's company, and Light was feeling extremely awkward because stupid Ryuk had planted thoughts in Light's head that he wanted some brain bleach to remove. 

Surprisingly, it was L who started the conversation.

"So... how did you find the notebook?" Light was surprised because he sounded genuinely curious and not interrogative. He turned away with a small smirk,

"You tell me something about yourself, and I'll tell you."

"I already told you not only my birthday but also my age." Light pouted, because while that was something you could look up for literally anyone else, L was an enigma wrapped in a mystery and nothing about him was known anywhere.

"Fine. It just fell out of the sky, and I happened to see it while looking out the window. It was pure chance that I saw it and picked it up before anyone else."

"Would you say killing people has made you happy?" 

That made Light hesitate. Building a better world? Yes, that made him happy. Satisfying his boredom? Absolutely. The game with L? He had to admit he did enjoy that, and no matter how angry he was about that one mistake which led L right to him, it was thrilling to have a nemesis at his level. But did the act of taking lives in itself make him happy?

But then he remembered he didn't have to answer that, "Nope. A question for a question. Do you have any siblings? You don't need to tell me any names, it's a yes or no question."

"Yes and no. I have no biological siblings, but there are three kids I consider little siblings." No specification of gender, no names, but Light realized he had learned an essential fact about L. Nothing that could be used, but it was intriguing to know.

They talked for hours, eventually leaving the topic of backstory and talking about their own interests. At that point, L's answers had become less vague since the things he enjoyed had nothing to do with his identity.

They actually had a conversation as friends, rivalry be damned.

Light could feel Ryuk's shit-eating grin, and while the thought of he and L being more than weird friends was a confusing thought, he couldn't bring himself to care.


	7. Chapter 7

“Light, try holding the rope a little lower," L gently guided Light's hand, finally teaching him how to sail. The whole day, L had been teaching Light new skills, such as fire staring, purifying water without the machine to do it for them, making tools, and more on swimming. Now, it was using the raft, "Now pull back, that will turn the sail." Light obeyed, and the boat shot forward. They were only going around the island, and this was also testing how well the ship sailed, but Light had to admit he was having fun.

But he also realized those feelings Ryuk had brought up might be slightly somewhat partially true. Or maybe that was just the situation talking. But Light knew that only the notebook and the excitement and relief from the boredom that plagued him had made him smile the same way L did.

As much as he hated to admit it, L was the only person he actually felt he could be himself around, and learn from without embarrassment. He tensed a little, realizing that Ryuzaki was the only one who might actually understand him—not necessarily Kira, but Light, a person who was lonely and bored and wanted to make the world a better place.

The wind blew in his hair, and Light found himself growing increasingly frightened as Ryuk's words started weaving their way into every interaction Light had had with L.

"Ryuzaki," he turned, "You said I was your first friend. Why?" He knew L wasn't the social type, but the idea of L being twenty-five and not having had a friend besides Watari before was confusing. Light then realized he was one to talk because a damn apple-addict Shinigami was his first real friend, who he had met at age seventeen and knew that one day the bastard would literally be the death of him.

Ryuzaki paused at the question because there were so many ways to answer. Eventually, he settled with, "The things I love have a tendency to be taken from me. Remember that when I said that, I expected to catch you any day, and you would die."

There were so many things that comment made him want to say, and too many thoughts made themselves known. He was supposed to be Kira, God of the New World, no way in the name of his borderline nonexistent sanity could he actually be developing a crush on _L_ of all people and wondering if L felt the same way.

He focused all these distressing and confusing new feelings into anger, "What is that supposed to mean?" He felt someone tapping his shoulder, and he turned, yelping when Ryuk was up in his face, "Every time I turn around, you're just so creepy like you should be banned from most schools."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Ryuk said, "School is boring. I have no idea how you put up with it all the time."

"Oh, that's right," Ryuzaki looked from where he was pulling the boat onto land, "Japan doesn't allow students to skip grades. That certainly could play a part in it..."

"In what?" Light asked, and L put a hand on his hip.

"I've been analyzing everything I know about you, and I have noticed your boredom and inability to talk to someone likely played a large part in it. Am I right?" Without thinking, Light nodded a little bit, and L smiled, "I thought so. I was lucky, and I was allowed to skip grades as my intelligence needed, and I graduated from school at a very young age and became a detective. I never had to put up with mind-numbing boredom."

"Lucky," Light muttered bitterly, then thought about it. "L, if our roles were different, and you were the one who experienced a level of boredom others can only imagine, and had no way to express yourself and make the world better, would you have picked up that notebook?"

"Yes, I believe I would have. Technically, even as me right now, I would have picked it up out of curiosity, but I have no need to continue using it. But whether I would have used it in your shoes, I cannot say since while I know the boredom you felt when I have nothing to do, I can always find a case to solve to amuse myself. But it's my turn to ask a question. If you had had a way to improve the world and relieve your boredom within the law, would you have chosen that route?"

"Yes." The answer came out quicker than Light had expected, and L picked up the notebook, flipping through the pages and chuckling.

"Lind L. Tailor, or should I say _I_ , sure managed to anger you. A whole half-page dedicated to one man. This means you have a temper. Good to know what gets under your skin." He put the notebook back, "Something has changed, Light, since we landed out here. It has been five days, and it seems that either you are putting up a mask in an attempt to deceive me or you realize things you haven't before. What are those things?"

This was one of the first questions that Light felt uncomfortable answering. There were some inquiries he didn't know the answer to, and that was the thing he had realized and hated it. Being God, improving the world, it was all so easy to say, but he knew so little about what he actually wanted, he hadn't thought about it before, and it was driving him up the wall. So he decided that if he answered, L would need to explain something that would make him uncomfortable as well.

"What I realized is how little I knew about, for example, the religion aspect of the whole Kira thing. The way religion works, people can easily abuse it, which is the last thing I want, but how can I ensure that doesn't happen without revealing myself."

"Here I thought you wouldn't care since Demegawa is still alive."

Light chuckled, seeing the stars were coming out. Wow, a whole day had passed already? For the first time during this adventure, he had actually been having fun, and the time had passed. For a moment, Light hadn't been purely focused on getting home so he could continue his war with his nemesis. "Oh, that man's a bastard, but he hasn't committed a crime, so I have no reason to kill him unless for my own ego, which paints a bad image for Kira since Demegawa isn't a criminal or someone trying to catch me. I have limits. Okay, it's my turn now. What are you afraid of?"

L chuckled, "You know, you're not the first person to ask me that. So I'll tell you the same thing that I told them. I suppose I'm afraid of monsters. Many types of monsters scare me: Monsters who cause trouble without showing themselves, monsters who abduct children, monsters who devour dreams, monsters who suck blood… and then, monsters who tell nothing but lies. Lying monsters are a real nuisance: They are much more cunning than others." He smiled knowingly at Light, but it didn't reach his eyes, "They pose as humans even though they have no understanding of the human heart; they study even though they have no interest in academics; they seek friendship even though they do not know how to love. If I were to encounter such monsters, I would likely be eaten by them… because in truth, I am that monster."

Light blinked, having honestly thought L had been referring to him, "You're afraid of yourself? Or of how people see you?"

"You think I don't know how stories get written?" L looked towards the sky, his face more open, more anguished than Light had ever seen it. "I am the mystery detective with questionable methods, and a past nobody knows. I am a monster and a nightmare, and I will meet a bad end. Maybe that's why I am so intrigued by you, Light. We are the same type of lying monster. Don't think I didn't notice the expression on your face, thinking I was describing you. But the difference between you and I is that if you play your cards right, and even if you don't and it's just to save face for your family or whatever government you slither into, you will be remembered as the hero."

 _The things I love have a tendency to be taken from me._ Light remembered L admitting that. 

But L's words were also kindling for Light's temper, to whatever pit of fear was yawning open inside him. "And what if I don't want to be remembered that way?"

"What is it that you want, Light-Kun? To be remembered as a God? Or to not be remembered at all, because you know that nobody except me knows a fraction the real you. The real Light Yagami is unknown to all."

Light had no answer to Ryuzaki's words, having never thought about it like that before. He knew Ryuzaki was right, but he wasn't going to admit it.

L repeated the question, "What is it that you want, Light?" When Light remained silent, he laughed. It was bitter yet soft, "I thought so. Perhaps you should take some time to figure that out before we get home."

Light clenched his fist, standing up and beginning to shout. It wasn't like anyone would hear them, "Maybe I don't know what I want, but at least I have tried to show them who I am, and nobody listens." He seethed, " _You_ , on the other hand, are a whole different level than me. My personality may be hidden from most, but _everything_ has to be a mystery with you. Sure, it's because L's identity can not be known, but what about those same masks you put up that you give me crap for? What about letting Watari or the task force or me see the real you? But maybe it's easier not to. Because what if you did let someone in? And they saw everything, and still walked away? Who could blame them—who would want to bother with that sort of mess?"

L flinched.

The three greatest detectives on Earth flinched. And Light knew he had hit hard, and deep.

Too hard, too deep.

Light opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was cut off by L's soft and somewhat shaky voice. "We should get some sleep." He said, "We have another long day ahead of us." He laid down in the sand next to the fire, wrapping a blanket around himself and didn't say anything else.

The words hung between them, and there was an unspoken recognition that Ryuzaki was waiting for him to take it back. But he wasn't going to, even if a tiny part of him did regret it.

He already knew that what he said was going to be an issue between them and their mutual survival, but he also had enough of his pride left to realize he had a point and shouldn't be apologizing for being right.

Ryuk floated above him, looking extremely frustrated, "Remember when you said you were popular with the girls? Clearly, that charm of yours fails you when it's your equal. Or is it because L's a guy?"

"Shut up," Light turned over to try getting some sleep but found that those words he had said to L kept him up all night.


	8. Chapter 8

After giving up on sleeping around what he would guess was midnight, Light made himself a torch after a little struggle and went around the island to explore a bit and collect more food for traveling.

Ryuk followed him, "You seem a little high-strung, Light."

"No, I'm not." He groaned loudly when he ran into some vines and had to hack them away ineffectively with the ax, "Why would you possibly think that?"

"There's a lot of reasons, Light. Maybe it's because you lost your chance to learn more about him when you opened your big mouth. You are aware that if you had said nothing, he might have told you something, right? Who would want to bother with that sort of mess? You would, and you know it."

Light tensed, remembering the fact L had actually flinched, something he never did. But he still knew he had spoken the truth—a brutal truth, no doubt, but that didn't change what it was.

"I'm not going to apologize for being right." He said to the Shinigami and glared when Ryuk scoffed.

"Then why aren't you asleep right now."

He walked back to the beach with his findings, and attempt to get some sleep since L had a point about another long day before them, and he froze when he got a good look at Ryuzaki's sleeping face.

On his side, with the blanket pulled almost protectively around him, thick-lashed eyes closed and unmoving, and drenched in the pale moonlight, which highlighted his snow-white skin and the distinct tear tracks on his cheeks, which were faded but shone under the moon. Right now, asleep—a rarity onto itself—he looked almost child-like, innocent, and delicate.

But yes, that was how L was—his disheveled, sloppy appearance spoke nothing of his brilliance, and his beauty didn't tell anyone of the pain there was no doubt the young man had experienced at an alarmingly young age.

From little comments L had made, Light had figured out that whatever had happened to land him out in the middle of nowhere as a child had occurred at the oldest around ten. The thought made Light sick, of a child having to do this alone.

But that brought him back to the tear tracks on L's cheeks and realized that either L was having a nightmare, or Light had actually made him cry. And, in truth, he didn't know which option he hated more. Or maybe he just imagined things, and it was a trick in the night.

He sat down next to L, brushing away a strand of raven hair that had fallen in his face. It was so simple, sitting here while Ryuzaki was asleep. But when he was awake was a different story. What would happen when Ryuzaki awoke in the morning? He knew what he had said struck a nerve, and probably pointed out a deeply rooted fear. There was a chance he would act as if nothing happened, as though the words said were just data to be collected. But it was much more likely this was personal and would be shown as such.

He ended up pacing around the beach, Ryuk following him.

"For someone who has no plans of apologizing, you sure are antsy." Light rounded on Ryuk,

"And why do you care if I apologize or not?! I'm not going to say sorry for being right, get that through your head."

"Light, you know I'm just a spectator through most of this," Ryuk stated, "And seeing as this is the equivalent of television for me, I have reached the point where I'm tired of the obstacles and want you to admit your feelings for each other already, is that too much to ask? I have a whole rant prepared for if this doesn't blow over in the next day or two."

"Admit feelings?" Light huffed, "Even if I did, it would only be initiated because you pointed it out, meaning there's no way to be sure if it's genuine emotion or subconsciously playing on what you had pointed out. Then there are Ryuzaki's feelings, and I highly doubt he would want to admit love or even anything other than interest for his sworn enemy who has admitted to wanting him dead. And again, we are enemies. Even if we both had a mutual desire for one another, what does that change when we get back home? I'll tell you what: nothing!"

They both turned when they heard a noise and saw Ryuzaki had woken up—no doubt from the shouting. He blinked sleepily in a drowsy kitten impression for a moment, clearly trying to figure out what was going on. Once the brain fog cleared, his expression became sad, and he didn't say a word as he gestured for Light to get on the boat so they could get going since it was clear neither was going to sleep.

"The silent treatment?" Light realized after a moment, all his other complicated emotions were once again replaced with anger. "Real mature, L." L looked at him with a bored expression and opened the sail, lifting the anchor as they set off into the unknown.

Since there was actual metal now in their boat, it went a bit slower, but only a little. The raft was going a maximum a ten kilometers an hour, not very far, so it was still going to take a while to get back home.

Light's mind wandered again, wondering if his parents thought he was dead by now. Rem was probably thrilled at the idea of both him and the threat to Misa being out of the picture. Speaking of Misa, had she started killing again? She had been about to before, then Matsuda had the bright idea that landed them in this mess, so she hadn't had the chance.

As much as Light hated being out in the wilderness with no way of contacting anyone, he also almost liked it. It was so much simpler out here, reminding him of different times, back when he was very young and hadn't yet become bored beyond comprehension. When he and L got back to society, things would become complicated again, and it would likely end in one of them dead. Ryuk was a Shinigami, a species where everything was simple, he didn't understand why any feeling besides hatred would make things even more of a mess. Or perhaps that was the way he wanted it—chaos.

They sailed all day, and Ryuk was once again singing sailor shanties. From time to time, when Ryuzaki thought Light wasn't looking, he would send him sad looks. Light clenched his fists from where he was watching the ocean.

Ryuzaki was playing _that_ game, and while Light still didn't plan on apologizing, he was starting to feel more than a little like an asshole.


	9. Chapter 9

They didn't find another island all day, meaning that since L was content to give him the silent treatment probably until he apologized, Light had nothing to do except for watch the waves and count the birds they spotted. Ryuk had tried to initiate a game of I-Spy and learned the hard way about Light's irrational detest of that game to the point it sent him into a rage.

Then he went back to singing shanties, and now that he had run out of them, he was starting to create terrible mashups. There were some points Light wondered if L would crack and tell Ryuk to shut up, and that hope was the thing to prevent Light from absolutely losing his mind.

The sun was setting, and Light frowned as he realized Ryuk was nowhere to be found. He and L looked to each other, and L dug into the bag, handing Light some cooked food, and lighting a tiny torch to heat it up. Ryuzaki was upset, but still being kind to him. 

It was this that made Light cave a little to the guilt he was feeling about what he said last night, "Ryuzaki... you were right. About..." this was awkward. Light never apologized or anything along those lines for anyone, especially his enemy, who he was finding it harder and harder to hate. "About me. I don't know what I want, and everything's been a mess that honestly scares me. I was mad you hadn't told me anything about you... maybe I wanted some clues towards myself. But why would you trust me? Everything is simple out here, two people trying to survive, but then we remember who we are. Even if we did become friends out here, what does that change when we're back to being Kira and L instead of Light and Ryuzaki? I shouldn't have given you a hard time for something I don't understand." He leaned against the railing, looking up at the stars, "When I asked who would bother with that mess, I was talking more about myself than you. You're right, we are both the same type of liar, and it's not fair the way we will be remembered in history." His breath hitched, and he felt his eyes burning, realizing he was speaking a truth about himself he hadn't realized before. He had always known he was alone, nobody would understand him, but now there was some salt on that wound because the one person who might be able to relate to his struggles was out of his reach.

They were still sitting in silence, until Ryuzaki spoke, "Even if you didn't understand what happened in my past, you were right about me hiding. I've had some bad experiences... trusting someone. In a way, I trust you because I know you, including the darker parts you don't try to hide from me. In a way, I don't know what I want, either. Getting time to think, you and me without distractions, make things so complicated, knowing that even if I win the war between us, I still don't win because I will have lost the first person who gets the struggle of being above everyone. It's incredibly lonely at the top." 

Light chuckled, but it held little humor because that was something he was starting to realize with his whole godhood plan. "You'd think the geniuses would be happier."

"Humanity does not ask us to be happy." L responded, "It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf. Though seeing as humans seem to be getting dumber as we go along, sometimes I wonder if it's worth it."

"As I've said before, the world is rotten and unfair. That's what I wanted to change in the world, so everyone can be happy. But is there a way," Light asked nervously, "For us to be friends while still enemies, so we aren't alone?" He saw some hesitation on L's face, and there was fear in his eyes before he gave a fond smile,

"An enemy, Light-Kun," L explained. "Is, in a way, the best friend of someone like you and I, brilliant and bored. There is no teacher but the enemy. No one but the enemy will show you what the enemy is going to do. Only the enemy shows you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. We've been playing this game for a long time, and now it's come to the part where everything reaches a point I was hoping wouldn't happen."

"And what point is that?"

"The moment I understand you. See," L turned to him, then looked away almost shamefully, and he seemed to be hugging himself. "The moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment... I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves if not more. And then, at that very moment when I love them... I destroy them. But you, Light, are different."

"How so?"

"Because while I understand you, there are some things I cannot know because _you_ don't know it. And yet I still find myself in a situation where I love you, but because of what I don't know, I also hate you, and it's a huge inconvenience and a headache."

Light asked hesitantly, "Have you ever... understood someone to the point of loving them before?"

"Not often since usually I can catch someone without understanding them, but there was one time because I find that when it's a mystery, I love them more."

There was a flare of jealousy, unlike anything Light had _ever_ felt before. It was irrational, and he knew it, but something about the idea of L loving someone made him uncomfortable. He found himself shifting his weight from side to side, knowing that the chances of Ryuzaki telling him who that person was was slim. 

_"The things I love have a tendency to be taken from me."_

_Oh._

"Did that person die?" He asked, and Ryuzaki turned, his eyes for a moment that of someone who had experienced pain and suffering beyond all imagining, and Light truly in all senses regretted what he had said that led to the silent treatment.

"Yes. That's all I'm going to say on the matter, but there is an interesting tidbit you might find interesting. Because there's something I need to know, Light, and you are the only person on Earth capable of answering."

"What's the tidbit?"

"The first one I loved was the real first person to have almost defeated me. If it weren't for the actions of a woman by the name of Naomi Misora, who worked under me, he would have won." Light felt himself take a couple steps back as though he had been physically struck, remembering that woman very well, and how her voice and that final expression on her face had haunted many of his nightmares even though he knew it had needed to be done. And he suspected that they were about to get back into fighting as L slowly turned to him, "She went missing, Light, not long after her fiancé, Raye Penber, was killed by Kira. What happened to her? The Naomi Misora I knew would have worked to catch Kira."

There was no point in lying, "It was an accident that I met her. She knew too much, a day working with you would have had me captured, and the stress of knowing that put me at the worst place mentally I have ever been. I... I assume you don't need to know the details."

L nodded, and Light was surprised there was no look of betrayal or even anger, just a small resigned nod, "I thought so, I just had to know." He sighed, "And that makes this whole fickle even worse. I can't ignore what you've done in the past, and yet somehow I can't bring myself to desire revenge or harm you."

"You said you loved me?"

"And I mean it, but you have a point. What does that change when we get back? If anything, that leads to more heartache. I don't want to lose you, even though I know you have done horrible things. And it terrified me when you made that comment because it showed me you understood me enough to know where to strike."

Light nodded to himself, sitting down, and Ryuzaki followed suit. Their backs pressed against each other so they didn't make eye contact, knowing the words said as the waves gently rocked them and the stars shone gorgeously above could easily change the moment they returned to their normal lives.

"Love truly is the deadliest weapon. Most think of it as hearts and roses and happily ever afters, but for us, this is a mess because expectations say we need to hate each other, but now we've known each other for too long for it to work."

L's hand started shaking, "You love me too?"

"I don't know what love is." Light said, and even as the words left his mouth, he knew it was at least partially a lie, "My father taught me that love comes second to duty and justice. Misa has shown me love is an obsession—no, I'm not kidding, the only reason I keep her around is that her Shinigami will kill me if I do anything to upset or harm her."

L actually fully turned around and looked panicked at that, "Light, you understand that's unhealthy and dangerous to keep around, right? Does she know Rem could be used as a weapon against you?"

"Yes. But until now, I planned to use Rem's love of Misa to off you, but now with all my feelings being a mess, I find myself unable to bring myself to do that. I mean, maybe I can use the fact I find myself attracted to you to get her to leave me alone, but then she's going to kill you."

"So it seems you really could use love as a weapon," L crossed his arms, "But I'm sure I could give your father a hint of how trapped you are with her, and he could handle it, and you would have justification to hate her forever if she acts. I noticed how uncomfortable she made you when you had lost your memories and assumed it was different when you are Kira."

Light raised an eyebrow, "Are you actually worried about me?"

"I'm a detective, and it's my job to solve cases, so excuse me if hearing that a Shinigami has you trapped in a loveless relationship that could turn abusive at any second sets off my senses for a case that needs to be solved. Though I assume, Misa has those eyes again, meaning she could easily see my true name and off me using a second notebook you kept somewhere."

"Is there any point in trying to deny that?"

"No, not really. It's more a rhetorical question than anything else." He leaned forward, "Be honest, is the thirteen-day rule as fake as I think it is, or is there a loophole you know about?"

Light put a finger to his lips, playfully, "I can't tell you all my secrets, now can I? But even if it is a loophole, I haven't written any names in the notebook since getting it back, so I wouldn't be dying in a week."

"Then how did Higuchi die?"

"I believe it's called a heart attack."

"You know what I mean." L laughed a bit, "Twenty minutes ago, this conversation started with you apologizing to me. This has been quite the turn of events. Me realizing I actually love you, your feelings are confused, and we both know it's a real pain."

"Why do people have feelings?" Light asked, "Wouldn't we all be better off without them?"

"That's a psychopath, Light-Kun."

"Sounds fun."

L rolled his eyes, getting up to adjust the sail, "Where's Ryuk?"

As though he had been summoned, Ryuk slowly floated out of the water, "Have you sorted out your feelings, or do I need to sing Disney songs?"

"Oh, God, NO!" Light waved his arms around frantically to get Ryuk's attention, not wanting to listen to his Shinigami singing Disney romance songs, "We talked things out."

"Oh, good." Ryuk went back to singing shanties, and Light noticed Ryuzaki yawn, 

"I can sail, get some sleep."

"Nope. You've slept less than me, and I am used to going without sleep."

"What makes you think I've slept less than you?"

"I woke up to you shouting, and it was clear you hadn't slept."

"Good point."

"But I do need a little help. We haven't found an island, and I'm trying to find one as fast as possible. And we might have to stay there for a while."

"Why?"

"The water's cold, meaning we could very quickly get hypothermia, which would lead to death. So, oh dear, we might have to stop at a big island and set up shop away from our problems until winter ends. Hopefully, months on an island together will give us time to hate each other or come up with an alternative, and hopefully, Misa will think you're dead. I'll still be working on using the parts I got off the cargo ship to build a radio to get to Watari, but it's reached a point it's getting cold to the point of being dangerous to travel. When we get to the next island, I might be able to do one last swim for underwater resources, then that's it until winter ends."

Light hadn't thought about it, but now that he thought about it, it was uncomfortably cold. He had gotten used to it after being out here for hours wrapped in a blanket, but freezing to death was a very real and scary option.

"So... does that mean we're going to be spending more time alone together as not-quite-enemies with confusing feelings towards each other."

"Yes, I believe that's exactly what I'm saying since survival comes first. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind." He assured, and he meant it.


	10. Chapter 10

Once they had talked and were on the same page about their complicated feelings for each other, sailing became much more pleasant, and Ryuzaki was more willing to ask Light for help when needed. Light, meanwhile, had to admit that sailing was fun if he was with someone he got along with. He knew the world needed Kira, was corrupt. Still, he would prefer to spend some time away from all of that to get his feelings in order because he didn't want to experience the heartache if he killed L while still finding himself not wanting any harm to befall the detective.

L had sent Ryuk in search of an island so they could finally have some peace. Today was much colder than previous days, and they both pulled blankets tightly around them, glad Ryuzaki had had the foresight to go through the whole cargo ship and get an entire bag full of blankets. Then he had created a whole compartment in the bottom of the boat for them, so they were protected from waves. This was also where they kept the Death Note because a ton of their conversations during this adventure would be erased if the notebook was destroyed and Light's memories with it.

"It's a good idea to stop at the next island." Light said, "One more splash from a wave, and I'm pretty sure hypothermia is going to get me."

"Yes, it is rather unpleasant," L agreed, "Hopefully, we'll find an island before a storm catches us because the last thing we need is for a cold shock to kill us."

"Do you think the others think we're already dead?" Light asked, and L shook his head,

"While most of the task force might, it's likely Watari would have told your father at least a little of the fact I've done this before, and it's not in my nature to leave you to die at sea. Watari will know we're alive, and seeing the way your father is, he will likely cling to that hope."

"I wouldn't think Watari would tell anyone anything about you without your permission."

"If our lives depend on it, and he needs help from others to find us and needs proof that there's a high chance I'm alive, he would, and I talked to him about this years ago that he was allowed to bring up the less personal aspects if my life is on the line."

"How the hell would you know we'd end up in a plane crash in the middle of fucking nowhere?"

"Call it paranoia, which has undoubtedly paid off."

"If the whole task force probably knows by now, can you at least tell me how old you were last time."

"Eight."

"Eight?!" Light gaped, "I had been thinking ten or twelve!"

"Nope. As I said, tragic backstory (TM). I will admit things are easier when you're tall."

And Light was stuck once again feeling extreme respect for L, seeing in those eyes that there was no deception. He tried to imagine a small child doing half of the things the two of them had done now and found it extremely difficult. 

"That was seventeen years ago, and you haven't gotten rusty?"

"I practiced a lot. Watari was the first person to take care of me, and since I wasn't used to it, I would use my skills to take care of myself."

And that respect changed to a ferocious rage. L, for the first eight years, hadn't had anyone to take care of him? Maybe his parents were just busy like Light's own, but seeing as L had been in the middle of the ocean so young made him realize that L had been abused. Now he wanted to know L's real name, not to kill _him_ , but so he could find L's parents and kill _them_ for what they did to their son.

He felt L's hand on his, "Watari handled it. I know what you're thinking. You don't need to worry about it."

"If you're allowed to worry about my relationship with Misa, I'm perfectly allowed to be pissed at your parents."

"Parent. Not plural." L corrected, looking away, clearly nervous, "I've said too much."

Multiple scenarios were in Light's head with that newfound knowledge. Still, something reoccurring was the theory that whichever parent had left L to die was superstitious, which didn't play in favor of L, who was born on Halloween.

Ryuk came flying back, "I found something, and I'm not waiting for you." He dove underwater and picked up the boat, flying faster than the raft could sail. L lifted the sail so it wouldn't tear and held onto Light and the mast, so neither flew off.

L was the first to spot it, "Light, look!" Light saw and noticed not far from them was a massive island, significantly bigger than the others they had landed on, and seemed to be the perfect place to stop for the winter. 

"If we're lucky, there might be civilization." L said as they were placed gently on the beach, "And if there's not, more space for us, I suppose." He looked and saw a cliff face, but then there was a hill they could go up. Light looked at the slope anxiously,

"What should we expect here?"

"I don't know, but I do think taking some weapons is a good idea. Once we find a place to stay for the night, I'm going to come back here and go underwater. I saw a shipping container like one would find on a cargo ship. There might be interesting stuff down there."

Grabbing some of the weapons, Light nodded towards L, tossing him an ax, knife, and a backpack full of supplies. Light took two bags and only carried his ax.

The walk up the hill wasn't long, but Light, someone who wasn't used to hiking up steep terrain, was exhausted by the time they made it to the top. L had to help him up, and they started walking for the first time in a while, feeling the grass under their feet. At this point, Light's feet were badly messed up, and he was sure that even trying to wear his shoes, which were still on the raft, would cause unnecessary pain. Light knew that once they found shelter, a hot spring was the next thing he wanted to find because a bath sounded terrific. He certainly needed one, but at this point, neither he nor L was prioritizing that.

Luckily, they found a hot spring after maybe ten minutes of looking for shelter. Light dipped his foot in the water and found it was hot, even in the cold weather. He took note of that, already knowing this was going to be an excellent place to stay for the season.

Not even two minutes later, Light saw a bunch of vines by a cliff face, and he walked over, moving some vines and beaming, "Oh, L, I think I found a cave. There's a lot of vines." L came over and nodded with a matching grin,

"That's good actually because the harder it is to get through, less likely there will be a bear or something trying to hibernate in here. And a cave is perfect. If it's big enough, we can set up camp in here and maybe build a mini-house on the entrance."

"You have this all planned out already?"

"Yes, I do." L started weaving thorough the vines, not cutting through them, merely bending as needed and maneuvering around them. Light followed and found himself in a spacious cave, which was more than what they needed. There were some bugs, but L handled that quickly and dumped their bags, "Because if we're going to be staying here for months, we might as well live in as close to luxury as we can. And Ryuk will only help us with building a house so much, and it will take time. This is going to work for our purposes, and I remember where that hot spring was, and I have soap."

"How long until we run out of that?" Light wondered aloud, and L shrugged,

"I'm sure we can find a way to make more. We still have lots of this island we haven't explored." He gestured for Light to follow, "Let's get the rest of the stuff from the boat, and I'll see what there is down in that shipping container." As they walked back down the hill—Light stumbling more than once and skinning his knee at one point—they found they weren't too far from the shore. Also, nobody had looted the raft, meaning the chances of anyone else being here was lower. L took his shirt off, and Light was once again, staring at L's body, and his brain stopped working momentarily. L walked into the water after placing his ax on a rock away from the sea, probably to avoid the idea of rust, "Are you confident enough in your swimming abilities to join me, or are you going to wait and make sure I don't die?"

"I'll pick the second option." Light sat down on the sand, looking up and seeing they still had a moderate amount of sunlight. It was probably around eleven at the latest. Yet both Light and L were exhausted since they hadn't slept in a day for L and two days for Light. 

He waited for L to come back up, and after four minutes, one minute longer than Ryuzaki could hold his breath before coming up, he became worried.

...

This couldn't be happening.

L had swum down into the cargo container and saw lots of exciting things which would be useful, and had been in the middle of grabbing some when suddenly he found himself unable to move.

He looked down and saw his ankle was trapped in a net which had fallen and was weighed down, wrapped around his ankle at just the right ankle that his ankle and part of his calf was trapped, and he couldn't get out of the crate, couldn't get up. He tried desperately to pull against the rope, his lungs burning as he found the cold made him start losing control of his arms and legs.

Just as he started getting dark spots in his vision, he heard a sound, and hope blossomed in his chest when he saw Light had swum down too. His eyes widened when he saw that L was trapped, and they made eye contact. Light's face was unreadable as L's vision blurred a bit.

Then Light swam away, back to the surface, and L felt something inside him break. He should have known. Light was just waiting for the moment to be rid of him. Now that he could survive on his own, he had no need to keep his enemy alive. Yet he found himself heartbroken nonetheless.

_But—But I thought..._

He closed his eyes, unable to fight his fate any longer.

...

Light swam to the surface as fast as he could. L was already somewhat blue in the face, clearly drowning, he had to hurry!

Running out of the water, Light grabbed the ax which had laid forgotten on the rock, and dove back into the water, knowing he wouldn't have been able to get the net free from where that heavy shelf had fallen on it, so he needed to cut it.

Swimming around in the water, the salt of the ocean getting in his eyes burned horribly. L had adjusted to it after years, but Light was still new at this and struggled the deeper he got underwater, but adrenaline worked in is favor, knowing he refused to let L drown.

When he got back into the shipping container, he saw L's lips were a dark blue, almost purple, showing he was freezing, and he had passed out—whether from the cold or the lack of air, Light couldn't tell as he own lungs began to burn.

He grabbed hold of the net and noticed the beginnings of rope burn on L's ankle, and he started cutting through the net, which was thankfully one of the thinner ones. While these types were horribly inconventient for L, it did make things faster to cut. He was careful not to accidentally cut L, and once he was free, he started dragging him back to the surface.

Light almost screamed when, as he pulled L out of the shipping container, part of the metal door cut through Light's calf, and the seawater got into the wound, sending sparks of agony up his leg.

At that point, with the cold getting to him too, he feared he wouldn't be able to make it to the surface in time, but through sheer willpower managed to make it up, crawling onto the beach with L's body held to his chest.

Light laid Ryuzaki flat on his back and cried out when he saw the detective wasn't breathing.

"No..." he glared, "Don't you dare, Ryuzaki! You hear me?!" He crawled over to him, his blood staining the sand, and started CPR, "Come on, breathe!" He hated how pitiful he sounded, pleading for Ryuzaki to _stay alive goddamnit_ , they had come so far. The one time Light _didn't_ want L dead, he goes and drowns! And it got worse when, during compressions, Light heard a loud 'crack!' and realized he had probably fractured one of Ryuzaki's ribs.

Multiple compressions later, there was no result. Light found himself looking nervously at Ryuzaki's lips, knowing there was a second part of CPR he had yet to try. But...

Who was he kidding? Ryuzaki was dying here, so Light ignored all the issues that might spring from this and locked lips with the detective, breathing air into him. He did this twice, before going back to compressions, also lifting L's chin up to open his airway.

Thirty compressions later, Light tried mouth-to-mouth again, and this time got a result when Ryuzaki started coughing.

"Ryuzaki!" He tipped L's head to the side gently, so the water came pouring out of his mouth. L opened his eyes blearily, then lurched and hurled out more seawater. The whole time, Light rubbed L's back to comfort him, then took a moment to hold him, realizing L was freezing and needed to warm up quickly. 

Light rested Ryuzaki on the sand with the utmost care and moved to the raft, going into the compartment and pulling out the blanket sack. Ryuk was watching this all unfold, so Light tossed him the bag after taking out some blankets and putting Ryuzaki's shirt back on him, wrapping him in blankets. Light's calf was in horrid pain, but he found he just didn't care. It was just a cut, while Ryuzaki wasn't out of the woods yet.

Careful not to irritate L's likely fractured rib—that theory given more evidence when Ryuzaki gave the tiniest whimper which was painfully pitiful—Light carried him bridal style and gestured with his head for Ryuk to follow, "Come on, carry the bag."

The walk up the hill was miserable, but Light powered through, telling himself that rest would kill them both, and the medical supplies were in the cave. 

Getting to the cave, Light felt his legs give out under him, and he frantically spun, so Ryuzaki wasn't the one to crash to the stone floor.

He was surprised to already see a fire going, and Ryuk huffed, "Don't look too much into it. I'm invested in what's happening with you two, and while you could get up and find some, you and he are much more enjoyable to watch."

Light still smiled gratefully, "Thank you, Ryuk." He grabbed more blankets and wrapped Ryuzaki in them, pulling him closer to the fire. Then he grabbed the medical supplies and saw there was a strange thing, judging by the look of it, that was used to bind ribs. Light moved back to Ryuzaki and put the item on him, but knew he would need to check it, and once L woke up, remind him to take deep breaths.

_If he wakes up._

He wasn't sure what scared him more. The fact that there was no guarantee Ryuzaki would wake up...

Or the fact that the dread at the idea of L dying made him realize the emotion he had been feeling towards L this whole time had been love. He loved that bastard detective with a sweet tooth. Not a small crush or just an equal, someone who could reprieve his loneliness, he actually _loved_ this man.

He pulled his knees up against his chest, in too much emotional turmoil to remember his leg still needed to be treated. Ryuzaki was even paler than usual right now, breathing was shallow. This was supposed to be Kira's ideal situation—in which L died, and he was in no way to blame—but just the idea of L not living to get home with him made waves of sickness hit him, and he found himself crying hysterically.

Because he loved L, and even if Ryuzaki survived this, it was still something he had no idea how to handle.

OoOoO

Misa wailed on her bed at home. The task force was looking for L and Light, but they refused to give her any updates. And she didn't know how to calculate the numbers of lifespans since Rem had said it was a burden, so for all she knew her precious Light was dead!

What would happen to the perfect world they were going to build together, the life they would have, and the family they had been going to make? Misa sobbed, unable to think of living in a world without Light. Ryuzaki had been right; it was dark indeed.

Rem looked over her, "Misa, would Light Yagami want you to be so upset?" The Shinigami tried, hoping Light was dead but hated seeing Misa so heartbroken at the loss. "He would want you to push on even without him."

Misa wiped her eyes, wondering if she should kill herself to be with Light again. But then she paused. Rem was right, Light wouldn't want her to give up. He had been willing to give up everything for his perfect world, and his goal had led him to avenge the death of her parents! Even if Light was gone, wouldn't she be betraying him if she didn't allow his wish to live on?

Wiping her eyes and dully noting she looked like a wreck at the moment with smeared mascara and bedhead, she pulled out the Death Note and turned on the television.

"Misa, what are you doing?!" Rem asked, terrified. Misa grabbed a pen and started writing names,

"I'm going to make sure Light's wish is granted even... even if he's not around to see it. And there's still a chance he's alive, and he wouldn't be happy knowing I had given up. I believed in what Kira was doing, even before I met him, so I need to do this... for my Light."


	11. Chapter 11

It was a long night, and Light did everything he could to keep L warm and comfortable. It was clear L hadn't developed hypothermia, but he was extremely cold, and his rib was without a doubt cracked, as proven by the bruising. Light had taken some Akebi and made a makeshift hot chocolate. Vastly inferior to regular hot cocoa, but for an unconscious L, it would work.

With the injury on Light's own leg, it was getting harder and harder to walk. He had tried to use the needle and thread to stitch himself up since it was deep but kept being forced to stop. L needed to be the one to do it, so Light now had another reason—and since it involved Light's own survival and not feelings, he prioritized that reason—for needing L to wake up.

Thankfully, L had started shivering. Usually, that would be a bad thing, but it was even worse if he was freezing and _not_ trying to warm himself. He woke up a little from time to time but usually drifted back to sleep.

By the time Light's exhaustion from having not slept in three days finally caught up with him, he curled up next to L and let himself pass out, hoping L would be awake when he woke up because the pain in his leg was close to unbearable and it needed to be treated.

...

L hadn't expected to wake up, so it came as a shock to him when he did. The last thing he remembered was Light, leaving him to drown, and the heartbreak that caused.

He opened his eyes in the cave a few times, wondering if he had fallen asleep and the drowning had been a nightmare. But then he felt the cold which had seeped into his bones, the pain in his ribs, rope burn on his ankle, and slightly damp hair, and quickly realized that no, it hadn't been a dream.

Trying to sit up, he saw Light was curled up next to him, forehead having a sheen of sweat. He, too, had damp hair, and L realized that Light hadn't abandoned him. He must have gone to get the ax to cut the net. Immediately, L felt relieved, and a little bad for thinking Light wouldn't save him. But Light was able to survive on his own without L, so what motivation other than kindness would Light have?

Light looked miserable, and the shadows under his eyes showed how tired he was. L tried to sit up, wincing at the pain in his ribs, and his eyes widened when he saw a deep gash on Light's calf, which had gone mostly untreated, and it didn't take a genius to see infection had begun to set in. That certainly explained the sweating. Fortunately, the only visible thing was red lines around the cut, and saltwater seemed to have cleaned it out and prevent some infection, but that did mean it was going to scar. 

Crawling over to the first aid kit and trying to ignore the pain in his ribs, he found a tiny sewing kit. This thread wasn't ideal, but it would work. Almost absently, L ran a hand along a scar at his hip, which had needed stitches. That had sucked to treat on his own.

He shook Light awake, "Light," Light opened his eyes a little, and L guided him, so his back was up against the cave wall.

"You're awake..." Light whispered, "I was scared that I got to you too late." L smiled. Now it was confirmed that Light had been the one to save him and not Ryuk trying to be amused.

"Light, what happened to your leg?"

"Cut it trying to pull you out of the shipping container."

L nodded absently, examining the wound, "Okay, it's not too bad yet. I have a little bit of hydrogen peroxide I'm going to use. This may sting," he held out his hand for Light to squeeze, "Just push through, okay?" He took some of the hydrogen peroxide and put it on a cloth, gently dabbing at the wound. Light took a sharp intake and squeezed L's other hand, making L bite his lip, hating to see Light in pain. Neither of them was in great shape right now, and L realized that Light actually cared if he had walked up the hill, probably carrying him, with this injury. But on the flip side, he could have damaged something badly by doing that, so L knew he would have to keep a close eye on Light's recovery.

For the sake of his own recovery, L took deep breaths to help his rib as he worked on Light. Once he was confident in the cut being cleaned, he took out the needle and thread and handed Light a cloth to bite down on as he, with the utmost care, pushed the needle into sensitive flesh.

Light let out a choked scream and reached for L, hands closing around the front of his shirt and gripping tightly, tears of pain beginning to well up.

"Just breathe, Light, focus on deep breaths, follow what I'm doing." Light obeyed through clenched teeth as L worked with expert precision. But it reached a point towards the center, where the infection had started, that Light actually heaved with pain. L knew Light wasn't used to physical agony except for the occasional punch they had thrown at each other, so this was probably the worst injury he had gotten in his life.

L knew that it would only hurt Light in the long run if he worked faster. He needed to do this right if Light was going to recover. And wasn't this scar going to be a story to tell, saving a nemesis from drowning? L still felt a pulsing in his ribs and knew he would need to remove the binding soon.

Ryuk watched on, unsure of what to do, because humans and their actions didn't make any sense, and the concept of injury was foreign to the Shinigami.

After a few minutes more, L finished but knew bandage wrap would be pointless at the moment since the hot spring would be beneficial for them both. But he grabbed it as well as a knee-high sock to keep it in place, and some fresh clothes. He pushed past his own pain, used to it after years, and stood, helping Light up and needing to support his weight, so he didn't put pressure on his leg. L knew they had limited supplies and would need to deal with that, so he hoped he could get the radio working, but for right now, relaxing hot water on their sore muscles would help.

He and Light both stripped and got in the hot spring, and L relaxed instantly when he hit the steaming water, seeing Light had done the same thing. He looked towards Light, then rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Sure, they had showered together before, but something about the fact they had complicated feelings for each other, which boiled down to love, made it so much more awkward. 

L shrunk down a little, acutely aware of his physical and social shortcomings. He was more than aware he was not the suave beauty Light was, even if genetics had been kind to him in some areas more than others. But Light had been a genetic jackpot in every way.

He took some more deep breaths and forced himself to cough. His ribs ached, but he could tell the crack was minimal, no bones were floating around inside his chest in places they shouldn't be. In truth, Light was probably more injured than him at this point.

At least the hot water seemed to be helping. Light rested his head back, and L, still feeling a chill in his bones, found himself inching a little closer to Light without thinking, in search of body heat. He looked up at a clearly startled Light and saw he was flushed. Maybe he had developed a fever, or perhaps it was just the heat of the water, the warmest they had been in a week. Wow, had it really only been a week since they crashed? It felt like an eternity had passed, and they had grown to understand each other like one would after years.

"Thank you, Light, for saving me." He looked up, ashamed, "In truth, I thought that you..."

"Left you for dead?" Light asked, sighing, "Seeing as you had passed out by the time I got back, and I'm Kira, I don't blame you for thinking that. But... I can't let you die. Because... I think I figured out what I wanted, at least what I want while we're far away from home."

"And what is that?" L asked, gasping quietly when Light held his hands.

"When I thought I was going to lose you... I realized something important L—what that feeling was that I felt towards you. I... I love you, Ryuzaki, I really do. Everything's a mess, I know, with who we are, but while everything's simple... I..." 

And he could tell, looking in those cocoa eyes, that Light was genuine, this wasn't a trick to lower his guard—if it was, he would have done this before and left L to drown.

"So now we're in a situation where we love each other. What are we going to do about it?" He had two fingers under Light's chin, moving his lips closer to Light's, not kissing him, but making it clear that he wouldn't say no.

He certainly didn't expect Light to sit in his lap, smiling, "I don't know, but I know I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you. This is all a confusing mess. But I know what I am feeling right now is real." L chuckled,

"You're right." Gently, he took Light's arm. Light shivered with the contact.

"You like that, hm?"

Without thinking, Light nodded.

L grinned.

Keeping eye contact with Light the whole time, he brought Light's forearm up to his mouth, planting tiny kisses on the tan skin. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't be doing this.

Either way, he no longer cared as Light's eyes rolled back in his head, and his mouth dropped open as the pain in his leg was momentarily forgotten.

Smirking again, he moved his kisses further up Light's arm, traveling up to his shoulder, then his neck. He sucked a little there, eliciting the smallest of whimpers from Light, before moving up to his jaw. Then finally, his mouth.

He wasn't sure which one of them groaned. It could have easily been him. Their lips, together, were just…electrifying. Light's mouth was warm and surprisingly strong, pressing back against his own with a sense of urgency, desperation, want, need, fire. His hands grabbed at Light's back, his waist, his hips pulling him in, needing him closer. Light's arms found their way around L's neck, sliding up into his hair, tugging it slightly…It was definitely him moaning now. It was like he was floating, but being compressed, and on fire, but freezing cold, and every single, little nerve in his body was alight and dancing and shouting and screaming, and he was purely… alive. This was right. This was amazing.

But then, as all good things do. It ended.

They broke apart, gasping for breath, hearts pounding, minds racing. Bodies aching for more.

Their eyes met, and they both blushed, averting their gazes.

What does one do in this situation? Where you've accidentally just made out with your best friend but also still technically nemesis?

Apparently, coughing and scratching your neck is the thing. Because they both did it simultaneously before making yet more awkward eye contact.

Do you apologize? Do you say thank you?

"Erm…" he began, debating apologizing. Light was injured, and he wondered if he had overstepped a boundary. He'd never done anything like that before, so he didn't know what was right and wrong except for "no" being very serious and not something to ignore. But then he noticed there was a flame in Light's eyes that he had never seen before, not the same as Kira. This time Light was the one to learn in, brushing their lips together, which ignited a wildfire within L. Day after day of subtle flirting. Sexual tension piling up with every glance, but both had been too stubborn to notice. Enough was enough, they had both wordlessly agreed.

...

He could feel L's shock, and he once again melted into the contact as his hands found their way back to Light's hips.

"What are we doing?" Light whispered, feeling a hand at his low back.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"Are we really doing this?" Light shuddered, smiling a little, "I mean, to be fair, boyfriend sounds nice, but a supreme enemy you can make out with sometimes in secret sounds much more hardcore." He yelped as he felt hands tugging at his hair,

"You have a point there."

Once again, it got much more heated, both trying to figure out what to do, until two things happened. 

One: L's ribs started acting up, reminding him that there was damage there, and he winced, causing Light to pull away instantly, and then his own leg started acting up.

Two: They both realized Ryuk was watching them.

"Oh my god, Ryuk!" Light grabbed a rock and threw it at the Shinigami, "Would it kill you to give us a little privacy?!"

"Didn't you tell me to keep an eye on L and make sure he doesn't die?"

"That was when he was unconscious!" Light screeched, "Go away!" Ryuk laughed but did fly back to the cave, and L was looking anywhere that wasn't Light, mortified that Ryuk had been watching. Though it was possible Ryuk had only just then appeared, but the very idea of someone watching when L had no idea what he was doing made him panic a little.

"Should we... get out?" Light asked, "Or stay in the water?"

"It is warm in here and feels good on my ribs." L looked in the water, down at the visible stitches, "How's your leg?"

"Like I got stitches without any numbing medications." Light bit his lip, "Look, L, about what just happened... are we going to talk about that?"

"Um... what is there to say? We both understand that while we can be together out here, away from our problems, there is no changing the fact you are Kira, and I am L, not just Light and Ryuzaki. Our relationship is doomed to fail unless we find some sort of compromise—and seeing as we're both stubborn, that's certainly going to be a challenge. If we're going to do this, it's going to be a lot of work."

"I assume it's too much to ask for you to drop the case or even better join me outright?" L thought about the idea, putting a finger under his chin, thinking. There was nothing really in his morals, but he had no plans of giving in to Kira's will that quickly.

"Yes, it is too much to ask. I'm still bitter; you were constantly killing my favorite resource." Light took a moment to realize what that was, before laughing,

"Sometimes tells me we're not going to get anywhere unless I leave Death Row Inmates for you to use as sacrifices?" 

"Yes, I'm glad you're following along." He noticed once again how tired Light looked, and knew the only reason Light was being compliant at the moment and not arguing was he was exhausted. He felt Light's forehead and felt abnormal heat, which he could tell wasn't because of the hot spring. Shit, Light was a bit feverish. "Come on, Light, you're tired, and I think you have a fever." Light momentarily had that fire return, and he tried to protest, but then his eyelids started dropping again. What they had done probably took the last of his waning energy.

L quickly got dressed and helped Light do the same, careful of their injuries, and helped Light walk back to the cave, where he then sat Light down on a rock and started wrapping his stitches with bandage wrap, then put a high sock over it.

At this point, L knew he was pushing how much he should be doing, but he worked to create a makeshift bed out of blankets. They'd have to improve it later, but for now, sleep and warmth were the highest priority after taking a drink of water from the water purifier and eating some fish, sharing some with Light, who was clearly too tired to protest.

As they laid down curled up next to each other to preserve heat, Light quickly fell asleep, and L put a hand to his lips, still unable to believe what he had just done with Light. A week ago, he and Light had been ready to kill each other, even if L had for a long while cared about Light deeply. Now, they acknowledged love for one another. L knew it was going to take work, and even if they spoke of solving their problems in the months that they were going to be on this island, who knew if it would stick when they got back. Then there was the fact Light was trapped in a relationship with Misa...

The idea of that made L furious, hating the blonde girl for more than just being annoying, and the Shinigami being okay with that? Hopefully, L could think of a way to off Rem fast before Misa realized just how much power she had over Light with the ability to kill him if he didn't obey.

"Ryuk," he looked up at the Shinigami once again watching them and eating some fruit, "How do you kill a God of Death?"

Ryuk pouted, "Is this about me watching you? I didn't see much, but I was checking on you since I heard sounds." L sighed,

"No, it's about Rem. I assume you don't really care if I have reason to hate another of your kind."

"No, I don't really care." Ryuk replied, "Rem, Misa, Light, and I know how to kill a Shinigami. By getting one to save the life of a human using the Death Note." Ryuk explained the story of Gelus to L after Rem had told the whole thing to him during one of Light and Misa's meetings.

"Damn," L huffed, "So she's probably not going to be dying on her own?"

"Maybe she will." Ryuk laughed, "She's halved her lifespan twice. I'm not gonna tell you how much she has left."

"Well, here's hoping she starts killing again, and the task force has enough of a brain to arrest her, so the situation is handled by the time we get back." He pulled a blanket tighter around himself, seeing Light had rolled over.

It truly dawned on him that he was going to be spending months with Light on this island if he couldn't get the radio on. It was early November, and they would have to stay here either until mid-March or when the recourses here ran out—probably the former. This was going to be the most prolonged period of time he had been away from Watari since he was a child.

He remembered that day, finally sailing to shore, and being surrounded by the paparazzi, shocked a child had voyaged there on a makeshift raft. He remembered being so small in comparison to all the people shoving microphones and cameras in his face. And he remembered Watari forcing his way past all of them and picking him up, holding the crying and terrified child in his arms, whispering assurances in his ear that everything would be alright.

 _Please, Watari, don't give up on me now._ L begged Watari in his mind, even though he knew there was no way for his plea to be heard. _I'm going to get home, I promise._

A pang of homesickness hit him like a truck, and he snuggled up next to Light, letting himself drift to sleep, a single tear slipping down his face.

OoOoO

Watari knew without a doubt that L was alive. If he could survive on his own as a child with fewer supplies than he would have had now, during the same season, he could stay alive now as an adult. Even if the chief's son was Kira, something Watari feared, he could tell from the way Soichiro was panicking about Light not being able to survive on his own that the younger Yagami wouldn't dare harm L. They would work together, no matter how begrudgingly.

He hoped that at some point, L would find a radio and be able to send a signal, but with the number of potential places they could be, it was difficult to pinpoint without a sign. But Watari did have the exact coordinates of where the plane had crashed, and following the currents meant the duo was in the Japan area. With how many islands there were, it would take a long time to find them, and if the relentless storm outside right now said anything, the winter weather was setting in, meaning that unless they were extremely close to land, L was bound to insist he and Light stop somewhere for the season.

He sighed, having had no choice but to tell the task force about what happened to L as a child. He hadn't explained to them how it happened or anything about that wretched man who had no right to be called L's birth father. He could already tell the task force, or at least the chief was beginning to put the pieces together towards what made the brilliant and damaged mind of L the way it was.

Soichiro and Aizawa were the only ones who understood Watari's pain, both being fathers themselves. Still, Mr. Yagami was in the same boat as him, and they were able to get along better, sharing their mutual terror. No matter how gifted and experienced L was, illness or hypoglycemia could quickly kill him, and Light would be taken down too because Watari was pretty sure L wouldn't teach the potential serial killer anything unless needed.

Mogi had been sending out alerts to any island civilization in Japan with technology of the possibility of two young men on a raft appearing, and to alert them immediately if it happened. However, with how few islands were populated, Watari was sure that wouldn't lead them anywhere.

Matsuda brought in the coffee for them all, "Any updates?"

"No," Soichiro said tensely, "I hope this storm doesn't reach them. But if Ryuzaki still suspects Light of being Kira, regardless of the thirteen-day rule, I fear he may leave Light to die."

"Ryuzaki wouldn't do that," Watari assured, "I'm more worried about illness or a storm. If we're lucky, he will be able to build a radio to get in contact with someone. For now, it is safe to say they are both alive."

Aizawa ran in, "Watari, Chief, look at this! Criminals are dying again, and these ones weren't broadcast until after Higuchi was killed!"

"What?!" Soichiro's eyes widened, then he relaxed a little, "At least that means Light isn't Kira. The notebook is in the depths of the sea, and even if they kept it with them, it's not like either would have access to names." 

That may be true. Watari bowed his head, "That is true, but, this in mind, I think it would be best to go through with Ryuzaki's plan which he had created before this happened, to test the thirteen-day rule. Bring Ms. Amane back to headquarters so we can keep an eye on her."

It was hard. Watari hadn't been an actual detective in years, and now he had to choose between focusing on an important case for the greater good or being a father worried for his adopted son. He knew he shouldn't be so worried, but the image of L already dead or bleeding was burned into his brain, and he feared the worst.

Matsuda ran off to grab Misa, and Watari sighed, feeling hot tears threatening to spill over,

"My boy... where are you?"


	12. Chapter 12

Light woke up and shuddered when he felt like he was burning, yet he was far away from the fire. It didn't take him long to realize he had a fever. And then he turned to the side and noticed a page of the Death Note was torn out and had words on it, and next to it was a pretty yellow camellia.

_I went out to get firewood and, hopefully, some food. Make sure to rest, you have a fever._

_Ryuzaki_

Light smiled, turning back over, then realized his back hurt horribly, as though the muscles were tense— _well, you seem to have fallen asleep on the stone floor,_ his brain reminded him. But this felt like something else, and he tried to no avail to get comfortable.

Ryuk was hovering above him, "You're up. That's good, your infection got worse, and you've been coming in and out of consciousness for two days. L's been mumbling about hydrogen peroxide doing jackshit."

Two days? He had been unconscious for two days?! He rubbed his head, trying to figure out if he and Ryuzaki making out in the hot spring was real or a dream. He looked back down at the flower, which the Japanese meaning of meant longing. That supported the idea it had been real, but what was he going to do? Ask Ryuk about it? No way in hell was he going to give the Shinigami the satisfaction.

He turned when he heard a sound and pretended to be asleep again, pretty sure Ryuzaki would go off on him for being awake when he should be resting.

He heard Ryuzaki sigh, bending down by his side, "Ryuk, has he woken up?"

"Nope. Guess you have to kiss him to wake him up." Ryuk chirped, and Light found himself somewhat amused and not shooting up to stop this. He felt a cool cloth on his forehead,

"Just as I get your fever down," L mumbled, "Don't you dare die on me, Light. Or I'm going to start telling people you got shot by Matsuda."

That had Light jolting upwards, "No! Don't drag my dignity through the mud when I'm dead!" He noticed L was giggling, which was a shockingly adorable sound. He narrowed his eyes, "You knew I had woken up."

"Your breathing had changed," L pointed out, "And I will have you know the idea of Matsuda shooting you originated from a weird dream last night. You succeeded in killing me and almost became God of the New World, but then my successors defeated you, and you got shot by Matsuda while I watched you die as a ghost."

"That's... oddly specific." 

"I have odd dreams and am an odd person in general." He continued to press the cold cloth on Light's forehead. After a moment, Light couldn't take it anymore and had to ask,

"What happened? Everything's really fuzzy after you woke up from almost drowning." Then it hit him, "You've been lifting things with cracked ribs?!"

"It's not like I had a choice." L replied, "But after I woke up, we got in the hot spring, did some stuff, Ryuk ruined the moment, and then I took you back to the cave, and you quickly developed a raging fever. I was worried you were going to die."

"So... we actually did..."

"That?" L nodded, "Yeah. We did that." Light nodded a little, 

"I don't regret it."

"Me neither." He brightened, "Do you want some fresh air? There's something I want to show you." 

Curiosity won him over, and Light tried to get up, wincing as his back started acting up, then noticed L had handed him impressive makeshift crutches,

"So you don't put weight on your leg. I had to cut the stitches to treat the infection and stitch it back up." Light looked down at his leg, which was treated and had a sock covering it. It stung his pride that he would be dead without Ryuzaki, but then remembered he was injured while saving the detective's life. And once again, they were at a stalemate, both needing each other.

Ryuzaki helped him walk out of the cave, and Light noticed there was a foundation for a house built on the front of the cave, more things L shouldn't have been lifting with cracked ribs. He didn't say anything as Ryuzaki sat him down and looked up.

As he pointed ...

A star vaulted across the sky, brighter and closer than any Light had seen before. He leaned back a step into Ryuzaki—and quickly stepped away, out of his heat and power and scent, which was always mint and strawberries, regardless of all the sweating they had been doing, and it was a surprisingly pleasant combination.

Another star crossed the sky, twirling and twisting over itself as if it were reveling in its own sparkling beauty. It was chased by another star until a brigade of meteors were unleashed from the distant horizon.

The stars cascaded over them, filling the world with white and blue lights. They were like fireworks, and Light's breath lodged in his throat as the stars kept on falling and falling.

He had never seen anything so beautiful.

And then the sky was full with them, when the meteors raced and danced and flowed across the world.

He looked behind him to find Ryuzaki watching them, his face soft. Sad. Then he met Light's eyes, and Light realized for the first time that L wasn't hunching—probably because it was terrible on his ribs—but he was precisely Light's height.

Ryuzaki caught his gaze and said, "Come. There's a better view." He held a hand out. That sorrow, that weight lingered in his eyes. And Light hated it.

Ryuzaki led him to a small place on the edge of the cliff, where there were lush grass and flowers, and there was a splendid view of the stars above. The chill didn't bother him, and he had grown to love the feeling of the wind in his hair.

His leg started acting up, and he sat down, his feet dangling over the edge, and he saw the dark waters below, highlighted by the meteor shower. He felt L's eyes upon him and tore his gaze from the shooting stars.

Ryuzaki sat down next to him, close enough for Light's fingers to touch if he dared.

A calm, full silence enveloped them. Too many words—Light still had too many words in him that he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it. And he knew he had loved Ryuzaki for a long time and had denied himself from acting on those feelings before now, maybe because he was trapped with Misa—something he hadn't realized the severity of until he had fallen for another.

He didn't know how much time passed, appreciating the chill air on his fever-warm skin, but it must have been a while because when L's fingers tightened on his, Light jolted. Ryuzaki was smiling at him. And looked so alive and actually happy at the moment that he grinned back.

He hadn't even realized what he'd done until Ryuzaki's own smile faded, and his mouth parted slightly. "Smile again," he whispered.

Light then realized he hadn't genuinely smiled for him without it being one of those practiced, trained smiles to be kind and somewhat shy. Ever. Or laughed. During their time handcuffed together, he had never grinned, never chuckled. And afterward ...

And this man before him… his enemy… his friend… possibly his lover…

So Light smiled at him, broad and without restraint.

L said nothing, smiling back.

The air was too tight, too close between their bodies, between their joined hands. But Light said, "Thought for a thought? Tell me what you're thinking."

L looked back up at the meteor shower, "You go first."

"There are moments like when it's excruciatingly cold that I want to go back home, or when I get homesick. But there are other moments, like right now, sitting here with you, that I wish we didn't have to go back."

"Let me guess, showers are something you miss." L said with a chuckle, and Light nodded,

"Definitely. When we get back, I am using that shower for as long as it fucking takes to get clean, and _nothing_ is going to stop me." He smirked, "Your turn."

Ryuzaki rubbed his neck. "Uh…" he sighed, "I wish I could take back that kiss months ago."

Light frowned, having forgotten about that kiss when Misa had been getting particularly unbearable and insistent that he belonged to her, and they needed time for dates, and L had sat on Light's lap and locked lips with him. It had been a power move, to show that Misa could do nothing against him, and it had been brutal, demanding, and yet… now that he thought about it, he remembered _thanking_ L for that, because Misa had left him alone for a week, not wanting to talk to Ryuzaki, "Why?"

His gaze settled on Light's hand as if it were easier to face. "Because I didn't make it pleasant for you—I was jealous and pissed off. What if you hadn't been okay with it?"

It actually wasn't that which had Light worried. He did wonder why that hadn't crossed his mind as motivation to kill L back when he had wanted the detective dead—then he remembered that, oh yeah, he had at least subconsciously been attracted to L, so that wasn't something he would have thought about. But in hindsight, Rem finding out about that might get them both killed.

Ryuzaki looked up, meeting his gaze. And whatever was on his face—and Light thought it might have been mirrored on his: the hunger and longing and surprise.

Light swallowed hard, unsure if L was breathing. "Do you—do you want to dance with me?" Light whispered.

L was silent for long enough that Light lifted his head to scan his face. But his eyes were bright—silver-lined. "You want to dance?" he rasped, his fingers curling around Light's.

Light did not mind stepping out of the shadows, did not mind even being in the shadows, to begin with, so long as he was with him. His friend through so many dangers.

"Of course I'll dance with you," Ryuzaki said, his voice still raw. "All night, if you wish, as long as your leg is okay."

"Even if I step on your toes?"

"Even then."

He leaned in, brushing his mouth against Light's heated cheek. Light closed his eyes at the whisper of a kiss, at the hunger that ravaged him in its wake. And all around them, as if the world itself were indeed falling apart, meteors rained down.

L pulled away, and Light stared at him, breathless, while L smiled. The smile the world would likely never see. He said softly, "I am... very glad I met you, Light."

Light blinked away the burning in his eyes. "Come on," he said, tugging on his hand. "Let's dance."


	13. Chapter 13

The two had slowly danced for hours under the stars until L felt Light fall asleep with his head rested on his shoulder, a small smile on his face even in slumber. L smiled softly, scooping Light into his arms gently and carrying him back to the cave to rest. At least he seemed to be doing better, and from what L could tell, mercifully, his fever had broken. After two days, it was about time.

L, with the utmost care, got Light comfortable on the blankets, looking in the direction of the actual bed he had been building. Ryuk was eating an orange, "Thank you, Ryuk, for taking care of him while I'm out."

"It's not like I'm saving his life or anything," Ryuk shrugged, "But I'd rather my apple provider and constant entertainment not die." Yes, _Ryuk_ had been taking care of Light for a considerable part of the two days Light had been slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness.

L sat down next to Light, brushing back some of Light's hair and then checking his leg and changing the bandaging. Crap, they were going to run out of bandaging soon. Maybe L would sail out to find another crashed cargo ship? No... the odds of that were low...

He sighed, running his hands through his ebony hair, looking down at Light. Something just didn't add up. Light wanted to improve the world, and while he was misguided, L had realized a grave issue that Light himself probably isn't aware of.

"Ryuk, what was Mr. Yagami's stance on the justice system? It's no secret that Light inherited a somewhat warped sense of it, but I think he's inherited something from his father or perhaps..." L's eyes widened as he realized the thing Light didn't know that if he did know, it might stop Kira for good.

See, Light was raised by a police officer and from what L had seen, had probably been taught from a young age to think like one. But Japan had a big problem with wrongful convictions. If you are arrested for any reason, it doesn't matter if you are guilty, there is a near guarantee of being imprisoned. It was a system where guilty until proven innocent reigned supreme.

When L put things in that perspective, that Light had been raised essentially to believe they were all guilty, maybe Kira wasn't as childish as he had initially believed. If Light had been taught to think this way, the fact he went after suspects too made sense and didn't really look into cases before killing criminals. There were other issues also, and L needed to know. 

Was Light's sense of justice as warped as he'd thought it was, or was that to a degree because he was unaware how screwed up the Japanese justice system was and had never left Japan before. L remembered Light mentioning that this adventure, supposedly to Australia, would be his first time on a plane, so it stood to reason he hadn't ever left the main island before.

If Light realized he'd probably killed innocents, the wrongfully convicted, countless times, would that stop him? Or would it downright destroy him?

L pondered his choices. He knew that if Light's first plane experience had been a crash, it was unlikely he was going to be getting him on flights any time soon, meaning he'd need some other way like a cruise to get places. But what if he took Light around the world to see how justice worked in places like Europe and America? Well... America was a mess, so maybe avoid that.

He wanted Light to give up being Kira, but not out of a fear of death or for the sake of their relationship. He wanted it to be because Light truly realized the error of his ways. However, the problem L saw was the possibility of Light's surroundings while growing up having unintentionally programmed this thinking into him.

He let himself drift off while thinking but got up early to find some breakfast for them, glad Light was still asleep, and his fever flush had begun to fade.

L gasped a little as the cold air hit him once he'd left the warmth of the cave, and he took his bow and arrow off his back, shooting down a green pheasant in the distance and finding some eggs, which he retrieved, hoping they weren't fertilized so he could eat them.

When he came back, Light was awake, yawning and rubbing his eyes. L quickly got his kill ready to be eaten and used the pan he had gotten off the cargo ship, cracking the eggs and hoping for the best, glad to only get some egg white and yolks.

"Breakfast." He said, and when he was done, gave some food to Light, who dug in, since he hadn't eaten in days. L chuckled, "Careful. You need to slow down, or you'll give yourself a stomach ache, or the food will come back up." Light did slow down, but it was clear he was starving.

"This is really good, thanks, Ryuzaki."

L bit his lip, "Light, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. Why do you believe the world is rotten and needs to be fixed?"

"Have you seen the crime rate and how many people are arrested daily? Too many people are disturbing the peace, and thousands are killed by murder every year!" L sucked in a breath,

"Light, what do you know about justice systems outside of Japan."

"Not much. I've always been taught to believe in the Japanese justice system." Light took a bite of the cooked pheasant, "Why?"

_Oh no..._

"Light..." he asked hesitantly, "Did your father ever at any point voice concerns about one of the convicts actually being innocent?"

"No, why would he? They're all guilty."

And there it was. Another crucial piece in the puzzle that was Light Yagami. The way he had been taught to believe in a corrupt system. No wonder he thought the world was rotten!

"Light... do you know anything about wrongful convictions?" Light sent him an odd look as though saying he was somewhat aware but didn't know what that had to do with anything, and L sighed, "The Japanese justice system is corrupt. If you are arrested for any reason, there is a 99.8% chance you are going to prison. It's a system where guilty until proven innocent really prevails. I'm not saying any other justice system is perfect—hell, America's cases are mostly determined by plea bargains—but Japan's is unreliable."

He saw the exact moment what he was saying really sunk in with Light, and there was a pitiful tremor in his voice as he looked in the direction of where the Death Note was in the bags. L continued, deciding to rip that bandaid off quickly.

"After we get back home, I want to take you around the world—partially to avoid the complicated aspects of our lives—so you can see other justice systems, show you some trials. It's not your fault you didn't know and were raised to believe in a faulty design, but it's your choice whether to take this information and learn from it."

"I killed innocents... didn't I?"

"Well, I can't really blame you for anything Misa did, but Naomi and the FBI agents... but if you mean people who were wrongfully accused, then... I hate to say it, but without a doubt, it's happened at least a couple dozen times."

Light now had the air of a man who just discovered his whole life was a lie—which was pretty accurate. He pushed away his food, and in a weak voice, said, "Excuse me... I need some time alone." He got up, grabbing his makeshift crutches and left the cave. L sighed, putting the food in the pan and covering it, knowing Light had likely lost his appetite.

Sighing, L got up and bound his ribs, then grabbed his ax and got to work improving their living space, knowing Light needed time to process this information.

He just hoped that Light would be okay.


	14. Chapter 14

Light sat by the cliff's edge, where he and Ryuzaki had danced the night before, processing what the detective had said and the sheer unadulterated horror of it, as he came to realize how little he actually knew about the world outside Japan.

He was told when he asked that the reason so many people were arrested was the police were good at their jobs. But was that really true if countless of those people were innocent? 

Innocents. He had killed _innocents_ because he had been stupid enough to believe in a corrupt system. For a genius, he was an idiot. Why had he never questioned it? Perhaps it was to not disappoint his father, who he looked up to. But how many people had his father, a great cop, arrested that were actually innocent?

No wonder people still resisted Kira, especially if people of the world lived with different systems or knew how dysfunctional Japan's was. What about families of those innocents? Knowing that their loved one was wrongfully convicted and killed by Kira because of it.

He clenched his fists. He really was no better than a crazy serial killer—no, not just that. For those who worshipped Kira, he was telling them to believe in the faulty system, creating a dystopia. How was he supposed to create a perfect world if he supported false justice?

Innocent people had paid the price for police and governments not knowing what they were doing, and teaching people to follow along. This wasn't...

_You're the one who chose to pick up the pen and write those names. You are just as much to blame for the death of innocents as the justice system is._

Light's eyes widened as he heard that dark voice in the back of his head. It was the truth, and he knew it, but to actually let himself process that he had taken the lives of the wrongfully convicted hurt like an unbearable weight on his shoulders.

 _"I consider this crime to be the most atrocious act of murder in history."_ Light found himself remembering what L had instructed Lind L. Tailor to say, _"Kira, I've got a pretty good idea of what your motivation might be, and I can guess what you hope to achieve. However, what you're doing right now is evil."_

L had known all along, hadn't he? He had known what was wrong with the world and had known innocents were being killed alongside the guilty. Maybe that was why he would never join Kira's side.

How many had he killed who shouldn't have been? Well, there's thirteen in the form of Naomi and the FBI agents, but how many wrongfully convicted.

He hadn't realized he was crying from sheer rage until he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw L was there, "Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling like an idiot." Light replied, "And a hypocrite." L sat down next to him,

"I'm sorry you didn't know. I'm not saying you're blameless, on the contrary, but things make sense now."

"How many?" Light asked himself meekly, "How many do you think I killed who shouldn't have been in prison?" L bit his thumb,

"Light-Kun, do you really want the answer to that?"

"Do you know it?"

"I have an estimate," L replied, and Light looked at him intently.

"I don't want to know it, but if I am going to learn from it, I _need_ to know, Ryuzaki." Ryuzaki sighed, sitting down next to him in his usual squat, which sent Light into a slight panic, being if L tipped in the slightest, he could fall to his death off the cliff and into the water.

"Alright. Correct anything I say if it's wrong since I'm only working with what I know. As Kira, you were active for 185 days, from November 28th to June 1st. Good so far?" Light nodded, and L looked down at the water below, pale blue and glittering from where the sun was shining on it, "Your average daily kills was about 62 names per day. Now, this is an average, since some days you killed more, a couple days you killed one criminal every hour to make a point to me, and while under surveillance it was only two or three per day. Multiply those numbers, and you have roughly 11,470 people you killed." Light's eyes widened, not realizing just how many lives he had cut short. He always knew it was a lot, but that number was far above what he had expected. 

"That's a lot."

"The world's most successful serial killers only make it up to four hundred." L turned, "I can already tell you feel awful and horrified, so I'm going to get through this quick. Give you a harsh slap of reality so you can hopefully grow." He went back to biting his thumb as he often did while thinking, "Alright, we have the kill number, and while it's hard to tell what exactly the odds of innocents are, let's go with the number I know. Globally, 4% of Death Row inmates are likely innocent, so I'll use that. 4% of 11,470 is about 459 innocent people. Add on Naomi and the FBI agents, and we get 472 innocent people as a conservative estimate."

As L had been speaking, so detached as he said it as though this wasn't human lives he was talking about, Light felt as though someone had plunged a knife into his stomach and started twisting mercilessly. That number was insane. He was appalled, quite frankly, and was more than a little disturbed how little Ryuzaki seemed to care about that.

Ryuk came flying over, "Wow, Light-o, remember when I said you were a worthy Shinigami? That's more humans than _I've_ killed." The fact Light had killed more people than a literal God of Death had made him feel even worse.

"O-Oh..." Light looked down at his hands, and for a moment, swore that he saw the blood of his victims. And he realized how little he had thought about any of this. He had said he was ready to sacrifice his mind and soul to change the world, but actually hearing someone say those numbers made him wonder if he had been becoming the thing he swore to destroy. What would have happened if L had died, and he remained unaware of everything wrong with what he was doing? 

Suddenly, his own self-loathing turned to an icy fury, a killing calm as he slowly said to L, "You knew all these issues with the justice system, have all the police and governments under your thumb, and you've done _nothing_?" Ryuzaki turned to him, somewhat annoyed,

"Don't try to place anything on me. One man alone, no matter how powerful, cannot change the world. While you may _think_ you have, Kira-Kun, I give it six months after Kira vanishes for everything to return to normal as if nothing happened."

Light hesitated. He always knew he had planned to rule as long as possible to maintain peace, and potentially teach any child of his to do the same. But L had a point that no matter how hard he worked, human nature would revert back to the way it was soon after Kira was gone. Then he smirked a little,

"No _one_ man can, but _two_ men and a Death Note could."

"Light, no." L pulled the notebook out of his bag, "How would that even help?"

"The notebook allows you to control the people in power for up to twenty-three days before their death. Work it that way and continue the—why did I never think to do that before?" He grinned a little, "Fix the justice system that way!"

Obviously, he had gone about this wrong and ignored too many rungs in the latter in his goal to achieve world peace. Going after criminals meant nothing if the very system to label them as such didn't work. He needed to fix the justice system before anything else, and for all he knew, the crime rates would in itself decrease. Or it would become easier to pinpoint the real criminals. 

"No." It was clear L was putting his foot down, "If we are going to work together to fix the justice system, the Death Note will be used at a minimal, only if strictly necessary. You don't want any more mistakes," he sent Light a pointed look, making Light flinch at the reminder of the sheer number of innocents he had murdered. "Before all else, you are going to see other justice systems."

"Oh, I meant to ask, you said America mostly relied on plea bargains, what did that mean?"

"People confessing to lesser crimes to avoid running the risk of being accused of something more serious—even if they're not guilty at all. That's what America uses to determine cases for the most part."

"Can we at least make a more severe punishment for rape?"

"Absolutely." L said in a tone that brooked no argument, "If there's anything I agree with you for, it's that." He sighed, "So have you realized the true error of what you've done, or are you brushing over that?"

"I'm doing what I always do and trying to not think about that unless I'm alone." L stared at him as though even more realization dawned on him,

"You don't talk to people about what you're feeling? I mean, I get it, but something tells me that if your pent up frustration has leading you to lash out," he held up the notebook, "with this, you might need a therapist or something." He crossed his arms, "When you didn't have the notebook, I noticed the symptoms of depression—I brushed it off because wouldn't anyone be a little depressed in a situation like yours at the time? But... did you ever feel like that?"

Light looked away, clenching his teeth before he said something nasty, "So what if I did? What, are you trying to goad me into telling you how horrified I am that I took hundreds of innocent lives as the _conservative_ estimate, and the sheer number of people I killed makes me want to throw up—or maybe that's the remains of infection, who can say."

"I am glad to know you have a conscience." L replied, "But I would rather you're actually okay. If this whole... relationship thing is going to work, I would rather no more masks."

Light looked at him, still glaring, but now for a different reason, getting quickly in a defensive position, "No more masks? What do you want then?! Do you want to hear about how from the time I was six years old, I was ostracized because of how different I was, and not even my own parents would understand me?! How I was told to study and be perfect, and I always feared that without my perfect grades, their love would disappear?! How I'm terrified to look into different alternatives for a future because I'm afraid of disappointing my family?! I just want a world without crime so I can be myself and nobody would judge me, is that too much to ask?!"

"You don't want to be an officer?" L asked, and Light sighed,

"I do, but I also wish it wasn't necessary. I'd prefer solving cases to be a hobby of mine, not something so often that it's a full-time job." He wiped his eyes, realizing he had let himself be vulnerable. He narrowed his eyes at Ryuzaki, "You really do know how to get under my skin, and that is awful."

"Well, my father believed I was a demon, so I guess it comes with the territory, being able to know what gets to people." L looked at Light's shocked expression, "You shared something about you, and I've decided to return the favor."

"Why would your father think you're a demon? Is it because you were born on Halloween?"

"Yes, I believe that played a part in it. Honestly, with how superstitious my parents were, I almost wonder if I was left to die or just abandoned."

"Huh?" Light wondered how far he could push it and used this new information to keep back all the horror and guilt he felt at the lowball estimate of innocents he had killed.

L relaxed, no longer in his usual crouch, "My parents believed in lots of supernatural things and had always stayed away from horses, believing them to be kelpies and all sorts of other crazy things. I think my mother was a Wiccan."

"Wow, your parents believed in all that?"

"It's not that uncommon, Light-Kun."

"I know but, Wiccan and demonic water horses?"

"Says the guy with the murder notebook who had wanted to become a God, and currently has a Shinigami as a friend."

"You have a point there." Light winced as his leg hit the cliff face, then turned to L, "Can I guess what happened?"

"Sure, I've been guessing much about you."

"Something happened that led to one of your parents dying, you were blamed for some reason that probably involved you being born on Halloween, and you were eventually left to die by the other parent who considered you a demon?"

L bit his lip, "There's more to it, but I think that's all you need to know for now." He got up, "Light, I'm going to find you either here or in the cave or somewhere in between, right?"

"Maybe the hot spring." Light replied, momentarily oblivious to what L was asking. And only when L started walking away did he realize, "Oh, Ryuzaki, you don't need to worry about that." He fumbled to walk over to him, "Here, you need to rest, carrying logs and such isn't good on your ribs. I'll help."

"Light, you can barely walk."

"We're geniuses," he said, and he could once again see that pain in L's eyes as he was looking at the water. Light had subconsciously glossed over the fact this whole situation was a huge PTSD trigger for L... "We'll figure it out." 

Hesitantly, knowing they both needed emotional support right now, Light hugged L, pulling him close. L tensed, near petrified, before he relaxed and hugged back, and Light gasped when he heard a tiny whimper, and he lowered them both back to the ground as it was L's turn to let out all the feelings he had been hiding for years. 

And then Light himself started crying as he realized how many people he had killed and he had been becoming a monster. 

So they sat there for a while, holding each other and crying, neither saying a word. Ryuk eventually gave them some privacy, deciding to help them around their campsite.


	15. Chapter 15

"L, why is the wildlife going _mental_ around me?" Light looked down at all of the animals running around as though they were on drugs. It had been six days since Light began to question whether what he was doing as Kira was right, and during this time there had been multiple discussions with L about justice around the world. Light still wasn't fully convinced but did accept that at the very least Japan had a big problem in need of change, and if he was going to better the world, he needed to go to the source and work back up to punishing criminals. But surviving was his main concern right now, and his leg was already healing nicely, and while he still had to be careful, he didn't need the crutches to walk.

L was a genius and had managed to create a pickaxe of the sort, and had created notches in the cliff, where they could insert the tree trunks they cut down, so they could literally build a house off the front of the cave. Ryuk did help with the heavy lifting since he found this whole project rather interesting, and with the combined power of Ryuk's strength and flight, and L and Light's own genius, they had created a well made and functional shelter in a matter of days.

Right now, they had just finished making a door, because hinges and bolts had been some of the things Ryuzaki had found when they had looted that cargo ship. Sometimes Light wondered what would happen if they managed to get that radio working, and whoever came to save them found they had basically conquered the wild.

Alright, basics were done. Now they needed to make it actually comfortable to live in since sleeping upon a mound of blankets wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. Ryuzaki had been building a bed, but it was clear he was using up all his energy, and those years of sleep deprivation were getting to him.

L looked at the scurrying animals, "I have no idea." He shivered, "Well, I guess it's time to take the coats out of the blanket pile."

"We had coats in the blanket pile this whole time?!"

"Yes, but we've been using them as blankets and pillows." Light shook his head in exasperation and dug through the pile, taking out two surprisingly heavy-duty coats. These things were going to be the thing to keep them alive.

He wondered what his father would think. Fifteen days ago now, since he and Ryuzaki had crashed in the ocean, and already they had a shelter, food, and a new understanding of each other that led to love.

(Credit where credit's due, Light knew full well they wouldn't have been able to build the house this fast without Ryuk's help).

But he was still worried about when winter came. Would it snow? He didn't know—doubted it since it didn't usually get that cold, but it was still possible out here. However, he also knew that they would have died if they continued sailing.

They did need to start collecting enough supplies to survive the winter. L was the hunter, and Light hated the fact he was the gatherer since hunting sounded somewhat fun, but his leg also meant chasing after things was not an option.

Walking outside, Light laughed when he saw Ryuzaki chasing after a surprisingly large lizard,

"Come here, you skinny little Godzilla looking shit," L muttered as he finally decapitated the lizard. "I have meat! Not much, but we need all the food we can get."

"We are also going to need to start fishing." Light pointed out, "Take the raft a little further out. I can do that. It just involves sitting and pulling ropes." L nodded but ended up walking down the hill, helping Light since it was steep, and he still had a messed up leg. He looked down at that damn shipping container,

"I still want to go down there, but the water is cold, and that means death, especially if there are rogue nets down there still." Light nodded,

"Don't go down there... I still..." Light hesitated, "I still sometimes have nightmares that I hadn't been able to save you in time. I almost lost you, L. It took multiple rounds of CPR for you to come back."

"My ribs constantly remind me of that fact." L looked up towards the hill, "Ryuk! There might be fruit in the shipping crate!" Ryuk dove into the water and pulled the whole thing out. Light laughed, smirking at L as he got on the raft, 

"This is why I love you. You can make a Shinigami your bitch." L gave Light a quick peck and went back up the hill as Light set sail to get more fish.

Ryuk flew into the crate with L, who tossed the Shinigami an orange—which Ryuk said weren't as good as apples but a close second—and he started looking at all the things within. He noticed the net which had almost been the death of him and picked it up, already thinking of many uses for it.

Ryuk looked around, "So you and Light are getting close. Light tells me that relationships only work if both parties treat each other right."

"Yes, that's generally how it works." L replied, "I just hope our relationship sticks when we get home. I like seeing him smile and actually meaning it." It was true. Light's smile when he actually meant it was beautiful, and L wanted to always be the source of that broad grin. Even thinking about that night under the stars, the first time Light genuinely smiled at him, initiated a fluttering sensation in his heart.

It was moments like that he didn't want to build the radio. Stay here until March, so he could see Light happy without a society to weigh him down, always dressed all nice when it was clearly hiding something. Imperfection was beautiful, and that was why L loved Light now, flaws and all, for he would be too boring if he was actually perfect.

"I noticed that he says the L-word more often than you, and even he says it casually," Ryuk said, and L nodded,

"Neither of us are excellent at expressing verbal feelings. He knows I care." Ryuk seemed almost like he was itching to say something, and L cocked his head, "What is it?"

"I overheard Light's sister talking about something, and I think you should do it! Sounds interesting."

"Oh?"

"Something about squeezing someone's hand three times to say you love them." L pondered this, then stared suspiciously at the Shinigami,

"Why do you care about what Light and I do?"

"Believe it or not, I actually like you both, and watching you two trying to express love is frustrating when it fails and causes this warm feeling inside me when you succeed that I find quite enjoyable."

"So, you enjoy romantic comedies?" 

"Sounds about right, but I really hate that 'characters split up in the third act due to a fight or a lie' cliche, so thank you for not doing that, just a little silent treatment." L smiled a little,

"I take it you're going to murder us both if that cliche happens?"

"Shamelessly. That trope is annoying."

L shook his head, "I can promise to avoid that, but don't think there won't be arguments, because a relationship without those is rare."

"Oh, I know." He then made an excited noise, "Ooh! Shiny!" L turned and rolled his eyes since Ryuk was holding a somewhat rusty fork. The items in here consisted of furniture, machinery, footwear, and clothes. All of this required a hell of a lot of drying off, and L highly doubted the little machines were going to do anything. Still, the rest of this was going to be extremely useful.

It didn't take much goading to convince Ryuk to help him carry things up, and using the power of a torch and the sun, he managed to dry off the clothes. And now they had chairs and a small table, which was undoubtedly better than eating on the floor. That bed was going to take a while to finish constructing. L took this time while Light was gone to collect the inner fibrous bark from various plants in the area to weave into a string, and thus rope or even clothing.

It was probably a couple hours before Light came back, and with him was the bag, which had a couple fish, but something else was most surprising. In the palm of Light's hand was the tiniest cat that L had ever seen, able to sit in Light's palm without any issue whatsoever. It looked almost like a miniature leopard.

"Light-Kun, what is that?"

"It's a cat. I found it by the shore, trying to eat a lily. It's starving, so I brought it back here." At L's questioning look, Light huffed, "I'm a sucker for baby animals, don't judge me."

"I wasn't going to, I'm actually intrigued to know that. But that is still a wild animal."

"Can we keep it, please?" Light gave him puppy eyes, and L scoffed, crossing his arms stubbornly,

"That look might work for literally everyone else, but not me."

A single tear fell down Light's cheek.

"Damnit." L cursed, giving in, "Fine. But it's eating out of your food." Then his eyes widened as Light put the cat down, and it walked over to L curiously. He would have to be careful not to accidentally step on the tiny, scrawny thing. He picked up the cat, realizing precisely what this was. "Light, this cat has just told me where we are."

"Huh?" L gestured to the kitten,

"This is an Iriomote cat. They are a species on the brink of extinction and live solely on the island of Iriomote, and there are only roughly a hundred of them left globally. This is clearly not that island. Otherwise, we would have found people. However, say two cats got on the cargo ship that that container had fallen off of, got to shore, and repopulated a bit. This means we are close to Iriomote, an island with 2,400 people! Iriomote isn't far from Taiwan, which is only about 1,345 miles from Japan, and we could take a two-hour flight home!"

Light brightened, "We can get home!"

"In March or when I get the radio working." L replied, "But this will also give us something to tell whoever finds us, on the off chance we can only get in contact with someplace who can't trace the signal. Somewhere close to Iriomote." He picked up the little cat, "Fine, we can keep the cat. What are we naming it?"

"Lily? I found her trying to eat one."

"Alright then, Lily." He looked at the cat, and Light put part of one of the fish in front of the miniature animal. Ryuk looked down at it,

"I better not have to share my fruit with that thing." Light laughed,

"Cats shouldn't eat fruit. So you and Ryuzaki get to share that." L bit his lip, debating if he could trust Light with his name. He decided that if he was going to be in a relationship with Light, a little bit of his real name couldn't hurt. And it wasn't like Light would ever be able to guess his first name, seeing as any news reports had called him something along the lines of mystery child. 

"Lawliet." Light looked up, and L lowered his head, "My surname... it's Lawliet."

Light blinked a couple times, "I never thought you were going to tell me that. Lowlight?" L smirked, remembering that the pronunciation of his surname was different from the spelling which would suggest Law-li-et.

"That's how it's pronounced. I can tell you my name, but _spelling_ my name is the question. And seeing as there is a rule in the Death Note that I will be immune if you misspell my name four times..." Light laughed, that beautiful sound,

"That's kind of awesome. I think I can only appreciate that now that I don't want you dead. Imagine if I still wanted your head, and you did that. I know I would be furious."

"And you still don't know my first name." 

"So, for now, I'm going to settle with Ryuzaki Lawliet. I suppose that's where the title 'L' comes from?" L shrugged because he assumed someone could take it that way. He then held Light's hand, squeezing three times like Ryuk had suggested—L actually remembered learning this. Light stared at their joined hands for a moment before doing the same thing, foreheads touching until eventually, they moved for a kiss. When they broke apart, Light gasped when L handed him a red camellia, symbolizing love, resting it on Light's ear, the crimson color complimenting his pale brown hair and dark eyes.

They ended up cooking the fish together and eating at their new table, staring at the fire in their new fireplace—thank you, Ryuk. They both had laughed when the Shinigami said that building things was exciting, and it would give him something to do when he needed to return to the Shinigami realm. It was getting easier and easier to get Ryuk to help them since the concept of wilderness survival was fascinating to the God of Death. Lily was curled up on the blanket pile.

After dinner, they sat by the fireplace, having moved the blanket bed closer, and they laid together.

"What do we do now?" Light asked.

"Typically, people tell scary stories around campfires." L replied, "Should we do the same?"

"Carpeted kitchen."

L shot up, staring down at Light with a look of utmost horror. "What the hell is wrong with you? I can forgive the mass murderer thing, but that idea makes me think you were holding back with your evil mind." Light laughed again, tears at the corners of his eyes as he clutched his stomach, highly amused by the response.

But then Ryuk joined in.

"What if all the air in the world turned into wood?"

Both humans stared at the Shinigami. L already had a headache trying to imagine that, but Light looked like he was having a borderline existential crisis.

"Light, are you okay?"

"Nope." 


	16. Chapter 16

"Light-Kun, I just realized, you're very thin."

Light turned, seeing Ryuzaki was staring at him as he stripped and got in the hot spring. Sure enough, Light's ribs were indeed quite visible. He frowned, "Yeah, we've been in the middle of nowhere for half a month. What would you expect?"

"Hm, yes, that may be true." L hopped in as well, "But for someone your height and age, even 119 pounds is severely underweight, posing a high health risk." Light narrowed his eyes, getting a look at Ryuzaki's ribs too,

"And you're any better about that?"

"No, actually, I am much worse about it. That being said, being underweight means you are closer to starvation at all times." Light just shrugged,

"I just forget sometimes. And if I had known that one day I would find myself stranded in the middle of the ocean, I would have eaten more to prepare for it."

L giggled, "I would think you would have been screaming bloody murder and refusing to get on the plane if you had known this would happen."

"That too." He shivered, wincing as he knew the cold weather was coming. "How's that radio coming along?"

"It's going. Slowly." L replied, "I'm missing a few parts, and I am hoping I might miraculously find something that could work as a replacement. Of course, it would be wise to explore the island more anyways." He looked to Lily since the little cat had realized that these two humans were her best bet of surviving, so she stuck with them all the time.

After cleaning themselves and getting out, putting on their winter jackets and the makeshift boots they had finished last night due to boredom and inability to sleep. It seemed that they were back to their regular sleep schedule or close now that they weren't using adrenaline and fighting for survival always.

"Come on, Lily," Light gestured for her to follow, picking her up when she got close enough, "So how exactly are we going to take her with us?"

"I'm hoping we'll be able to make something along the lines of a tarp. That would be a good start."

Light looked up at the trees. Sunlight filtered through the leaves above, flowing through the gaps like water. Where it struck the forest floor, the autumn color could be seen, where it would soon fading quickly as winter wore on.

"Hey, Ryuzaki, we spend so much time talking about the case and such," he said, "But how often do we just talk about our own personal interests. What do you like to do when cases aren't interesting enough to take?"

"I've tried roller coasters, but those don't seem to bring much of a thrill. I guess that's the occupational hazard of my job that not much phases me anymore. But... I suppose I like to read."

"Oh?" Light turned, "I actually enjoy reading too. I often use books to practice my English. The mystery genre is my favorite sometimes, but it's a guilty pleasure of mine that I enjoy fantasy... and maybe a little romance," he looked away and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. They sat down on a log together, and L gaped a little,

"One of my favorite books is  _ Stardust _ . Everything in the mystery genre got too predictable for me, so sometimes I like to read about another world. They made a movie of the book, and it came out in July, but I'm not brave enough to see how the story got butchered." 

Light laughed, "So you can chain yourself to a mass killer, but god forbid a book to be potentially poorly turned into—actually when I say it aloud, that fear makes perfect sense. Of all the dangers we've braved together, movie adaptations are truly the most frightening thing."

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic." Light sent him a smarmy smile,

"Maybe a little." He then frowned as he heard a noise, readjusting Lily from where she had been content to sit on his leg, "Ryuzaki, do you hear something?" Ryuk then appeared,

"You guys gotta check it out!" Both stood, and it wasn't long before they began to hear the sound of running water. As they drew closer, the noise had increased steadily until they were only a few hundred meters away. There was a fair-sized pond that all the water cascaded into, following a river headed north. The grass was bright green wherever it wasn't lightly dusted with frost, which glistened in the sunlight.

"Woah." Light looked up in awe, and L smiled at how innocent he looked when excited, "I've seen pictures of waterfalls in books and online, but in person..." L nodded,

"Yes, imagery seldom adequately captures the beauty of nature. It's one of those things you have to see in person to truly appreciate."

"You humans and your sentimental crap," Ryuk rolled his eyes, "It's just water falling down some rocks." Light peered upwards, pointing. Lily was looking at the water in trepidation, and Light tucked her safety into his jacket. 

"I think I see a cave or something behind the waterfall." L dug into his bag and took out the Death Note and a charcoal pencil, where he had been spending his time on this island sketching it out so he could get a feel for where various landmarks were in relation to their residence.

"That would certainly be interesting. Let's get climbing."

"I have developed many skills out here." Light replied, "Parkour while holding a kitten, is not one of them." L rolled his eyes, tossing his bag to Light,

"I'll take a look." He walked to the rocks to took a moment to get a firm grip on the slick stones, being slow and careful as he climbed up to a ledge where there seemed to be a cave. He looked to Ryuk,

"You're going in first."

"Let me tell you something—I'm not." The Shinigami laughed, "It would be much more enjoyable for you to do it." L huffed, taking advantage of how lithe he was to squeeze into the narrow entrance and looking around, taking advantage of the fact the years had helped him develop the ability to see in the dark. 

But that proved unnecessary because the farther he wandered around, he quickly noticed illumination at the far end and gasped when he saw a small body of water, which was glowing a pale blue, likely due to either fireflies or bioluminescent algae. This lighting revealed that the cave was made mostly of limestone. He gasped, running his hand along the cave wall, knowing Light had to see this.

He shivered, knowing he should head back because he was cold and wet. But then Ryuk came in, looking around,

"Glowing water?"

"It's probably algae." He ran his hand along the surface of the water, causing the tiniest ripples, "There's more cave worthy of exploring, but I think I want to do that with Light."

He walked out and managed to climb most of the way, before he lost his footing on a wet rock and fell with a yelp, only to land in the warm arms of Light, who looked shaken,

"I'm glad I was close to where you fell. Call it paid off paranoia. Are you okay?" He helped L down, who nodded,

"Yeah. A little shaken, but otherwise intact." He looked up at the sky and sighed, knowing that with winter approaching, the days were going to be shorter. No matter since he was a night owl and so was Light, but it would make exploring more difficult. 

He then laughed as something collided with Light's face, sending him crashing to the ground with a shriek, 

"AH!" Light paused, realizing what had flown at him, and what was now in the pond, "Ducks." He huffed, staring at the three or four ducks in the body of water in front of them.

"Yes, Light-Kun. Ducks." L said slowly, grinning a bit as Light got out an ax from the bag.

"We're eating duck tonight." 

And thus, not long after, they were cooking Light's kill over a fire, having decided to eat outside tonight since it was decently warm. They sat in the usual spot, with the best view of the ocean below, and it would always remind them of that dance under the stars. 

L took a bite of duck leg, before looking off into the distance and pointing so Light would take notice too. And L saw the reflection of the sunset of Light's doe-like cocoa eyes, and he noticed that Light was regaining that innocence he had had when they were handcuffed together, which was a stark contrast to the manipulative Kira. Then he turned to look at the sunset himself, tearing a piece of meat off to give to Lily.

The yellow ball of fire that was the sun changed to hues of orange, and then almost tangerine. The clouds were cotton-candy, as though they blushed at the warm touch of the sun. Silhouettes of birds flew home across a sky that was now magenta, and the sun was half into the water, but its reflection in the sea made it look complete. The mauve of the dusky sky intensified, and in just a while, the biggest star had set, giving way to a thousand others.

L looked at his hand, resting on the grass and saw Light had rested his hand on top of it. Their eyes met, and Light rested his head on L's shoulder, squeezing L's hand three times.

No words were said between them, for L already knew, and they sat together watching the sun fully set until it became dark, and the silver stars twinkled above them, and moonlight shone on the water like a pale band of silver.

And L knew that if he couldn't get the radio working, he wouldn't mind spending the next few months with Light.


	17. Chapter 17

It hadn't taken long upon getting to their house after sunset for L to fall asleep, but oddly enough, Light was the one who found himself unable to drift into slumber, so he decided to get up and take a walk to clear his head.

He smiled, seeing L's sleeping form on the blanket pile, his thumb partially in his mouth like it would be if he was awake, and also giving him more of a child-like appearance. Light smiled, getting up, and testing how much weight he could put on his leg. Once he was satisfied, he got up and smiled down at Lily, "You stay here, Lily. Protect Ryuzaki for me." 

Opening the door after putting a jacket and makeshift boots on, he looked around. The moonlight splashed down its watery white-silver glow onto the forest, the trees were silhouetted against the deep velvety sky where stars illuminated the heavens like snowflakes in the night, yet appeared still, like an old photograph. 

Light smiled, feeling the wind blow his hair into a tousled mess even more than it already was, having not been brushed. At least L had started making a surprisingly effective soap out of the ashes left from a night's firewood. Still, they did have to be careful using it since they couldn't dunk their heads under the water in the hot spring, or else bacteria will enter their bodies and kill them, so they needed to use lukewarm purified water to get the soap out of their hair. Even if he didn't mind L and Ryuk's company only, what he wouldn't do for a hot shower at this point.

He sat at the usual spot, his feet dangling off the edge as he laid down with his hands rested behind his head, functioning as a pillow of the sort. The constellations, who'd witnessed centuries and millennia just the same, watched over this tiny moment as he gave a blissful sigh, the chilly air only occasionally nipping at his unbandaged calf.

Ryuk looked down at him, unexpectedly sitting next to him, "Whatcha doing?"

"Just watching the stars, thinking." He chuckled, "You know, I've always loved the nighttime, so it's nice to be able to truly appreciate it. And yet, for months, the night was the time my demons came out to play—to bring out the worst in me. But ever since getting out here, it was different. I'm actually... happy." 

"But don't you need to go back to write more names?" Ryuk asked, and Light sat up,

"Yes. That being said, while I do believe the world is in need of changing, I did talk to Ryuzaki. He wants to take me around the world so I can see other justice systems. What if I've been judging people improperly? L was telling me that the police are practically the villain in part of the world, and I have to fix it!" He sighed, "So even if we get back, it's going to be a while before I write names. Sorry to bore you, but I have morals."

"So we're going on another adventure? That doesn't sound boring."

"I guess we are. I've made that choice, but there are so many other things I need to figure out about myself and learn. I know you don't really care, but can I just talk at you for a moment."

"I don't really care." Ryuk replied, eating an orange, "But I have learned nothing that goes on in your head is boring." Light shrugged with a tiny chuckle,

"Well, L's been asking me what I want, and the more he asks, the more I start wondering the answer too. I have no idea what I want. I mean, I instantly wanted to be God of the New World, but _why_? Looking back, that was what I had jumped to, but I don't know the reason. Maybe I want power, but L's right that it's lonely at the top... I've known my whole life."

"Well," Ryuk looked down at him, laughing a bit, "What about being a God did you like? In my experience, it's extremely boring, and I'd think you'd hate it."

"Gods get worshipped, people listen to them, and believe, yes the power is nice, but... that's not what being a God is. It's pulling strings in the shadows so I can live happily as Light Yagami, the civilian. My parents always wanted me to be the best and defend justice, and I want to please them..." His eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. All those years, "I know what I want." It was barely a whisper as a smile bloomed on his face. It all made sense now, and it was almost like a piece had finally completed the puzzle.

He ran into the house, wanted to tell L what he had realized, and saw L had just shot awake, probably from a nightmare. He was hugging himself, looking around wildly, before relaxing when he saw Light. He took deep breaths, and Light hugged him, which helped L calm down, burying his face in Light's shoulder. It was strange, seeing the detective so vulnerable, but it showed a sense of trust, and now that he was sleeping more now after working even more than usual and exhausting himself, it was impossible to hide his nightmares.

Light smiled a little, running his hands through L's fluffy hair, which he had learned helped calm the other man. Maybe it was the excitement of what he had learned about himself and how it changed both everything and nothing, but he found himself singing—something he rarely ever did, especially with another person around,

_"Come stop you're crying, it will be alright._

_Just take my hand, hold it tight,_

_I will protect you from all around you._

_I will be here_

_Don't you cry_

_For one so small, you seem so strong._

_My arms will hold you,_

_Keep you safe and warm._

_This bond between us can't be broken._

_I will be here_

_Don't you cry_

_'Cause you'll be in my heart_

_Yes, you'll be in my heart._

_From this day on_

_Now and forevermore_

_You'll be in my heart._

_No matter what they say_

_You'll be here in my heart._

_Always."_

L's tears slowly came to a halt as he calmed down, relaxing in Light's warm embrace. And after a few minutes, L looked up at him with soft grey eyes, "You're very talented, Light-Kun." Light bit his lip,

"You—You think so? I don't typically..." he trailed off, feeling awkward. Damnit, why was L able to make him so flustered? Why did love have to do that? But he came in here to say something, and he psyched himself up subtly and looked down at L again with a shy smile, a real and genuine one which felt foreign on his face before this whole mess. "L, I have something I need to tell you."

L broke away from the hug, sitting on the blanket pile and observing him, curiously, "What is it?"

"I finally found out what I want." Any remains of pain from his nightmare, or drowsiness, vanished from L at that moment as he leaned in, clearly eager to hear the answer to this, whispering in Light's ear and sending shivers up Light's spine as he felt L's warm breath along his neck,

"What is it you want, Light?"

"I want to be loved. That's what I've always wanted—from my parents, from the world, and L... you're the only one who truly knows the real me, I can be honest with you, and you haven't run away from this mess."

L grinned, leaning in and capturing Light's lips against his own. He kissed him, and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. L's hand rested below Light's ear, his thumb caressing his cheek as their breaths mingled.

"Well," he couldn't see it, but he knew L was smirking, "If you want to be loved, I'm sure I can oblige. If I have to fight Misa and Rem for your freedom, I'll do it. You deserve to be loved."

"I get it," Light whispered, "That you aren't ready to tell me what happened to you... but I'll always be here to listen when you're ready to talk." He saw Lily was curling up with him, so small that she could sleep on his thigh without any struggle whatsoever.

"Thank you, Camellia." L whispered, "I need time... I'll tell you one day, but I'm not ready to tell the story yet. Can we not go back to how things were before getting stranded? I don't want this to end..." there were tears in his eyes, "I don't want you to hate me."

"Was that your nightmare?" L nodded a little,

"We got back and—and you acted as though none of this happened, and you laughed as I died, saying how could you possibly have loved someone like me."

That stung, but Light knew he deserved it. If L had had a nightmare like that, it meant that at least subconsciously, he still had a doubt about their love. But Light wasn't deterred by that—after everything they had done to each other, and the fact Light knew very well that if they hadn't gotten stranded, L would be dead right now, so he knew he deserved it. He knew what he wanted now, and he had always been the type to fight for what he believed in. He would prove to L that he could be trusted, that L could show him everything, and he wouldn't run away. 

Neither of them was perfect, they were both sadistic childish assholes who hated to lose, and Light knew L was just as clueless to how to have a relationship as he was. So this wasn't going to be easy, building that trust even when they no longer needed each other for survival. But Light had no plans of losing L now, not when he finally had a shot of getting that love he had so desperately craved—that missing piece he hadn't had a name for until mere minutes ago.

"It's going to take time for you to fully trust me—but I'm going to prove that you're safe with me. I'd be really sad if you died."

L simply nodded, seeming unsure of what to say, "I don't want to win anymore. It's not worth it. I _can't_ lose you too."

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured L, holding him close, "Come on, we should get some sleep if we're going to make progress on the radio in the morning. I'll stay with you, and nobody is going to hurt you while I'm around."

"Would you fight Kira for me?" 

Light paused, before thinking about Higuchi, and the fact he had been so close to losing himself mere weeks ago. How warped would his goals have become? "Yes. And even if I do use the Death Note to fix the world again, I don't want the Kira name—I never liked it to begin with."

L's brow furrowed, "I thought you chose it." He smiled a little as they both laid down, and Lily rubbed her face on L's cheek.

"No. The world picked the name." He sighed, "But I don't know what a new name would be. I guess I have time to decide." L nuzzled up against him,

"Can you sing to me, Light-Kun? Your voice is very soothing. You could become a singer if you lose interest in being a police officer." Light's eyes bugged out, and his face turned red, but didn't feel like stammering or revealing the true power of what happened when he got compliments not related to his grades.

So he focused on the song and continued to sing until he heard the tiny snores coming from L. He pulled one of the blankets up to L's shoulders, keeping him warm, and L made adorable noises as he adjusted his position on the blanket bed.

Light closed his eyes and listened to the crackling of the fire in the fireplace, letting the white noise lull him to sleep, feeling much more peaceful than he had been before.


	18. Chapter 18

"I got it working!" 

Light whirled from where he had finished up the toothpaste—charcoal is the best thing ever, Light decided—to see L looking down at the little radio triumphantly as the machine-made noises of functioning.

"Great! So are we going to be able to talk to Watari?"

"I doubt it. But now that it's working, there is a chance the tech back at headquarters will be able to pick up the signal, no matter how faint, if they're focusing around this area. It's more like a tracker. If we're lucky, sitting here and playing with it might let us get in contact with people on Iriomote."

Light stared down at the radio, deciding he didn't particularly care what L had done to get it working. He probably found a conductor to use in place of the missing wire. Lily was eating some fish, but was still a scrawny little thing. He was happy Watari may come to the rescue because that would make taking Lily with them that much easier.

Ryuk looked towards Light, "So we're going home?"

"Hopefully." L replied, and then he looked up, seeing the smile on Light's face had faded, and his eyes were uncharacteristically empty, "Light? What's wrong?" Light shook himself,

"Oh, nothing. I'm just tired." 

"Don't lie to me, Light." L's voice was firm, reminding Light once again of who he was, and Light's thoughts wandered back to the truth. They weren't Light and Ryuzaki, they were Kira and L. Nothing was going to change that.

"I don't want to see Misa again, and I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to face my family. They don't know I'm...and they're pretty traditional, so I doubt they'd be very accepting."

And L was silent, unsure of what to say, because, being a social outcast all his life, he was used to people not approving of him. But Light had strived his whole life to be loved, but in finding someone who truly loved him, he could be sacrificing the care and approval of his parents. 

"Camellia, when someone loves you, they want you to be happy. Why would it concern them who you're dating?"

"I'm supposed to marry someone like Misa..."

"Yes, well, Misa doesn't deserve you. I don't know what I can say to soothe your fear, but I do know I will defend you nonetheless. If it makes you feel any better, we've been gone for weeks, and perhaps that would put things in perspective for them."

"I hope. But what could I do about it either way?"

"You'll always have a place to go with me."

Light looked up, plastering on a smile, "Thanks. But I really am tired. We should get some sleep." L nodded,

"Agreed." They both crawled onto the finally completed real bed—it just figured, they finished it once they had a shot of getting out of here soon, and Light curled up next to L, closing his eyes as he felt Lily lick his face before curling up next to him.

He hummed quietly, which lulled Ryuzaki to sleep, and Light sighed as he let himself think about what had really been bothering him, but now that anxiety about his parents made him feel even worse.

Eventually, though, his genuine exhaustion crept upon him, and he drifted into slumber, but even then, he found no peace as he found himself in a massive graveyard. Row after row of tombstones, and judging by the soil, many of these graves had been dug in bulk.

"Hello?" He called into the eerie night sky, finding no comfort in this hour like he would normally, walking through the nightmarishly large cemetery, his bare footsteps against the stone pathway as he found himself face to face with a grave that made his blood run cold. There was a ditch in front of it, saying that the body inside had yet to be placed there.

It read: Lawliet. 

This was L's grave, but there was no coffin within. Light's eyes widened, looking around at the other names on the graves, very quickly realizing to his growing horror that this was a graveyard for all the people he had killed. But then, why did L have a grave here?

"Do you know what this place is?" That voice... Light snapped up and found himself face to face with a corpse-like Naomi Misora, who looked at him with a look of uncontested disdain.

"Yes. I've figured it out, but not why L has a grave here." Naomi looked down at it,

"I would think you'd know. After all, it was you who had arranged for L to die had you not crashed. Does he know about that? How a mistake saved his life and most likely that of Watari's? That he was going to be betrayed by the one he loved?"

"I'm sure he knows, even if I hadn't said it directly." 

"Then, does he know you're planning on betraying him again?" Light snapped up,

"What are you talking about? I'm not planning on betraying him at all. He can trust me."

"Just like you said _I_ could trust you?" Naomi snapped, and Light cringed at the memory he had been trying to forget, "Face it, the only reason you aren't as deranged as you were then is not that 'you found love' or something like that, but because you're _unable_ to kill. Once you make it back to civilization, you will return to how you used to be, and you will kill L."

She then fell unnervingly silent, letting those terrible words sink in with Light, and he knew it was true. Who was to say he wouldn't be called back by the Death Note? He remembered what it had done to him and his mind, of course, it was going to do so again.

He thought back to that plan he had created what seemed to be so long ago. It was almost if not already December now—he had long since lost count of the days—and they had no idea what was going to happen once they returned. 

"I told L that he could trust me," Light said softly, forcing himself to look up into Naomi's anger-filled eyes, "And I'm not going to make the same mistake I made with you. But I am sorry, Maki-San, for what I did to you and Raye. Innocents were never meant to get hurt in my quest for a better world. I went astray, but no more." He knew what he had to do now to ensure L was safe.

Naomi looked him dead in the eye and scoffed. "We'll see about that."

OoOoO

Watari had been drinking some tea, trying to calm himself down from the stress he was sure was terrible for his heart when Matsuda came running in with a wide grin on his face.

"Watari! The chief found a signal! It's really faint, and it's a miracle we were able to catch it for even a second, but—"

"L!" Watari got up, not even sparing a glance at the cameras in the room Misa Amane was being observed in. Because there was no evidence since it had been decided to wait for L's orders to test the 13-day rule, Misa was still allowed to come and go as she pleased as long as she stayed most of the time. This did not make for good observation, but the entire task force agreed they could care less. The highest priority was to bring Light and L home. Besides, Higuchi had only created more evidence against himself in the time he believed himself to be uncontested, it was likely the same would apply for this new Kira.

Rushing in, he saw Soichiro had tears of joy in his eyes, "The signal faded, but I managed to mark where it was. Please let it be them."

Watari looked to the mark. Not far from Iriomote. That made sense for where they could be. He felt tears start spilling down his cheeks at the thought of being reunited with his adopted son. It was possible this wasn't them, but neither father could bring themselves to consider that possibility when they finally had a potential lead to where they were.

"I'll get a plane ready. We're flying out there as soon as possible."

_We're coming, L._

OoOoO

"L, Light-o, wake up!" Both Light and L blinked a few times sleepily, looking up at Ryuk,

"What is it, Ryuk?" Light asked, and Ryuk laughed,

"Well, I was going to tell you a plane just landed about a half-mile from here." Both humans looked to each other with wide grins, realizing the radio had worked. Without thinking, L kissed Light and hugged him tight,

"Come on, let's pack up and get to the plane!" Light nodded, taking the Death Note and the actual survival equipment, and L had Lily in his bag with a little food as they both followed Ryuk, and got faster when they heard people calling for them.

"Light!"

"Ryuzaki!"

L ran into the clearing, freezing at the sight of the task force, and Watari gazed at him with wide eyes and a smile.

He flashed back to all those years ago when Watari had found him the first time, and he slowly walked towards his guardian as Watari cupped his cheek,

"Oh, my boy." L's bottom lip quivered, and he broke down, clinging to Watari,

"Dad..." Watari was taken aback by the title but also broke down, holding him close as though he never wanted to let go.

"It's okay now, L. It's time to go home." L looked up at him, nodding,

"Yeah." He turned back, looking to where he assumed Light was reuniting with his own father. But he then saw Light was hiding in the shadows, his head bowed and gripping the straps of his backpack as his entire body trembled. L smiled softly, figuring Light was nervous about their relationship, "Light, it's okay, you can come out. We're going home."

But then Light looked up, revealing his eyes were bloodshot as though he had been sobbing, yet he still had a shaky smile on his face, "No. _You're_ going home. _I'm_ staying on the island."

"What?!" Everyone asked, but when Soichiro tried to take a step towards Light, Light stepped back. L broke his embrace with Watari and knew Lily was peeking out of the backpack to see what was happening.

"Light, what are you talking about? You've wanted to go home since we crashed."

"I can't explain," Light rasped, "But please, forget about me and never return here. I have what I need to survive—you taught me how. I just..." he let out a choked sob, looking in the direction of Ryuk even though L was the only one who saw the Shinigami, "I love you, L." 

Then he took off into the forest, ignoring the screams of his family and friends and his love, begging for him to come back. 


	19. Chapter 19

"Light!" L hastily ripped out of Watari's embrace, starting to run, before remembering more people searching would hopefully make this faster, "I know this island the same as if not better than Light. His leg is also still messed up, so if we hurry, we can catch up to him."

"What happened to his leg!?" Soichiro shrieked, and L gave a nonchalant gesture, 

"Don't worry about that." He took off his backpack and handed it to Watari, "Keep an eye on the cat—yes, she is a pet, and we're keeping her." Then he too took off into the forest, first things first making sure Light wasn't planning to take the raft. 

He made it to the hill and saw the raft was still intact. L bit his thumb,

"Alright, where would Light go if he didn't want to be found?" He asked himself, looking around. He heard the task force screaming for Light, and L decided to track, knowing that Light wasn't going to run for very long with his leg. 

He then thought of a place that only the residents of the island knew, the task force would never find, and if Light assumed L was going to end up forced to leave, this would be the ideal hiding spot. 

He raced to the waterfall, pulling up his pant legs and getting a grip on the slick rocks, hoping not to fall like last time since Light wasn't here to catch him this time around. His breath caught into his throat when he slipped and almost lost his grip. The fall wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt for sure—meaning he wouldn't be able to get back up again.

"Come on, Light, you better be hiding in here," he got out through gritted teeth, wondering where the hell Ryuk was and what that look had meant. He felt uneasy knots in his stomach as he hoisted himself onto the ledge, involuntarily shivering from the cold of having been fighting against the running waterfall. At least being soaked made it more manageable to slip into the narrow crack allowing him into the cave, where the bioluminescent algae in the small pool were the only source fo illumination, giving the cavern a turquoise glow.

...

"Kid, what are you doing?" Ryuk asked him, "The way you were looking at me..."

"You're going to get bored eventually," Light whispered as he hugged himself, weeping softly, heartbroken and terrified at what he had to do, but knowing it was necessary. He looked down at the Death Note in his hands, "I know that you're going to kill me eventually. It's my time to die, Ryuk, you said so yourself, right? That you would be the one to write my name when it wasn't interesting anymore? At least then, I can destroy the notebook and not find myself lost and unsure of why I stayed."

Ryuk laughed, "Look, Light-o, I'm more of a romantic comedy kind of guy, not a tragedy."

"That's funny considering you're a God of Death."

"I've always been considered a unique type," Ryuk replied, "I'm like the Little Mermaid of Shinigami." That actually managed to get a chuckle out of Light, a little humor before doing what must be done.

"I didn't need that mental image, and yet here we are." He dug into the bag for a charcoal pen, cursing when he couldn't find one, looking down at the gash on his palm from where he had sliced it open accidentally on a rock while climbing into the cave. That would do, he decided, using his own blood to write his name if Ryuk wasn't going to. 

"Light!" He looked up and saw L had slipped through the crack and was running towards him halfway through writing his name, and the notebook was shoved away to the other side of the cavern. Ryuk laughed, but Light noticed a sense of relief in this one and not just amusement,

"I told you he'd come looking for you."

...

L had no words, seeing the cut on Light's palm and how his finger was covered in blood, or the Death Note. He saw the notebook, and his first instinct was to pull Light close, soothing him and also preventing him from going for the Death Note.

"Camellia, why... why didn't you talk to me?" He whispered, and Light was tense,

"You—You're supposed to be on your way home!" 

"I'm not leaving without you, Light, especially given what I just saw you try to do." He put two fingers under Light's chin, so their eyes met, and he saw Light's were bloodshot. "Talk to me," and he knew he should have seen this, or even expected this, and he felt a weight on his shoulders knowing that Light would be dead if he had gotten here a moment later.

There was silence, before Light's lip quivered and he looked towards the small pool, not wanting to face L as he spoke, "I have to. I know if I stay, Ryuk's eventually going to get bored, and that's assuming I last the winter on my own. I should end my life now and destroy the Death Note," he gestured to a lighter at his side, "So nobody else can use it. Better to die soon after burning the book, so I don't spend my life here alone and losing so much of myself, including my reasons." He turned to look at L, a tear falling down his cheek, "I don't want to die, I'm _scared_. But it has to be done."

"But _why_ , Light? We've talked, and you didn't show any signs of this."

"That's because I thought I had months to think about this, come up with something else. That being said," Light's voice grew soft, practically a whisper, "I'm not going to stop. Face it, the reason I don't feel that pull like I used to with the notebook isn't that you've changed me, but because there is nobody except the one I need to survive around to kill. When we go back, what if I just turn back into regular naïve psychopathic me? You've had nightmares about it—I know you have. It's better this way."

L knew he was walking a fine line, and Light was clearly in a dark place, but he just felt anger, grabbing Light's shoulders and shaking him a little,

"Light, this doesn't need to end in death! I promise you I will help you stay in control of yourself when we got back, do you doubt me?"

Light only responded with hugging himself a bit, "I'll hurt you... what if I lose myself and... but if I destroy the notebook, I'll forget so much about what brought us together."

"It would be distressing," L smiled softly, "To lose that much of you. I love you Light—even your ugly bits—but I swear if you don't see reason in the next five minutes, I will drag your ass to the plane myself. I'm also locking up the Death Note in a safe in secret until I know you aren't a danger to yourself."

A small, broken chuckle, "Didn't you say back when we first wound up in this mess that if I proved myself a danger to myself and you, you'd ditch me?"

L thought back and realized he had indeed said those words: _"And if it did reach a point you are a danger to yourself and me, I can ditch you somewhere."_

"The difference between then and now is that I know you, Light. I trust you." Light looked up with a look of outrage and shock,

"You can't just say that when it's definitely going to screw you over! If you think you can trust me because I saved your life? I need you to survive! Yes, I care about you, but who can say with _Kira_?!"

What had... Something had changed. Had mentioning the errors with the justice system really broken him? No... this was recent, whatever had happened to change him. He _knew_ he would have noticed if Light was so broken if he hadn't been distracted the last two days—and he cursed that fact.

"Light, where is this coming from? It's recent. What makes you think..." Now Light looked up,

"It's not much, just that I've been thinking, and had nightmares about it. But it's true, admit it. We know full well what the difference in Kira and me is, it was seen when I didn't have ownership! The moment I got my hands on the notebook again—"

"You have ownership right now, Light, and are you a homicidal maniac? No." He stood up, "I am tired of the solution to everything being death—and I'm sure you are too. You said you don't want to die, and I see no reason you should." He shoved the Death Note back into the bag, and noticed Ryuk had been watching this interaction intently,

"So we're good now? I would rather nobody die at the moment."

L looked towards where Light was still trying to make himself as small as possible, "Come on, Light," he held out his hand, "Let's go home. And for the record, I am getting you a lot of therapy, and there is nothing you can do about that fact."

"I don't want to go back. Everything is so simple here," Light gestured around the cavern, "And I feel more like myself when I'm free than I ever was in the city. Even if we try, what if societal expectations... and then there's Misa."

"Just because we're going back doesn't mean things are returning to the way they were." L assured, "Didn't we say we would explore the world?" He thought of something, "I'll tell you what. I'm loaded, I can buy the island. We'll try going back into the city and traveling, but if you are miserable, we can come back here and stay. Does that sound okay? We can still visit for the summer, to give you time to relax in case you feel like you're losing yourself."

"You'd... do that?"

"Consider it an early Christmas gift. And I've already got a plan to deal with Rem and Misa." He held out his hand to Light, "I'm sure the others are worried about you." L did a double-take to make sure they had everything. Then, he noticed Light's hand, "What happened?"

"Cut it climbing up here." L bit his thumb, grabbed some rope out of the bag, tied it around both their waists, creeping out of the cavern and looking up, beginning the ascent, confident in his climbing skills to support himself and Light if Light lost his grip momentarily.

With the effort this took, L knew there was a reason he had wound up with more visible muscle than when they had started. He was still lithe, but less in a scrawny way. Workouts alone in the city were nothing compared to over a month's worth of a fight for survival.

Ryuk was there at the top and helped hoist L and Light up once they made it. Neither had climbed up this high before, and it was the highest point on the island they had seen, noticing the water glimmering with the golden aurora as it was still early morning.

L turned and saw that dawn wash over Light, enhancing his already stunning features. If possible, Light looked more beautiful when he was free and wild, messy hair and the tan which had been lost during confinement and time handcuffed had returned, and those soft brown eyes were not as innocent as they had been before. Still, it felt like there was a real person there now, not someone who had spent his whole life going through the motions.

"You know," L looked out at the terrain they had spent weeks calling home, "I'm actually going to miss this place. Sure, we can come back, but..." he chuckled, "I've had fun here."

"L," he looked and saw Light was smiling a little, but still shaking, "Thank you... for stopping me." 

"Of course—and for the record, I was hoping a talk would work, but I was not kidding about the fact I would have dragged you back if that didn't work." They both yelped when Ryuk pulled them both into a group hug,

"We're off on another adventure now! And this time we can get apples! If we're coming back here, you better bring apples and seeds to grow trees here." 

L grinned, "I think that can be arranged. Now can you put us down before someone sees?" Ryuk laughed, but he did put them down. L looked to Light,

"Is there anything else you want to talk about before we're attacked by the mother hens of the task force?" Light hesitated,

"I'm still afraid about..."

"We're geniuses," L replied, "We'll think of something outside the box to make sure there is not even a risk." He looked at Light's watch, getting an idea but deciding not to say anything until he was sure it was possible. "Dealing with Misa will be the last time any form of death is the answer for a long time."

"Wait, what are you planning?"

"I mean, we have to get rid of Rem in one way or another so we can arrest Misa, right? Honestly, the idea is so simple that I'm shocked I hadn't thought of it instantly."

"Oh, right. What's the plan?" L winked, putting a finger to his lips,

"Is it going to be interesting if you already know the plan?" He looked to Ryuk, "Do you mind quickly helping us down, Ryuk? It doesn't seem like the others are nearby." Both of them clung to the Shinigami, who quickly flew them down to the ground, and L went about untying the rope around his and Light's waists.

Light shivered, "Can we head back to the house and grab our coats? It's freezing."

"That's because we're both soaked in December. It is a wise choice to grab jackets."

The walk back to the house was a short one, and they went to dig through their bed to find their jackets but were taken aback by Aizawa wandering around their home. When he laid eyes on the two, his eyes widened,

"Light! I see Ryuzaki found you." Light nodded, looking at the floor,

"Yes, he did." Hesitantly, he gestured to the house, "Ryuzaki and I have set up shop here." 

"I can see that. This is incredible. You two really built this?" L nodded, even though he had to leave out the detail that Ryuk did most of the work,

"Yes. After all, winter is coming, and we don't want to freeze to death." Aizawa nodded,

"But still, this is incredible. Matsuda's currently guarding the boat—and how did you two find metal?!"

Light laughed a tiny bit, smiling, "It's a long story."

"One that we all want to hear once we're back home." Aizawa looked worriedly towards Light, "Are you okay? You said you wanted to stay."

"It's complicated," Light replied meekly, and L held his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "I can come back here... I can go back to the city..."

Both threw on their jackets, and L walked out of the house, still holding Light's hand, "Matsuda, I found him!"

Matsuda ran up the hill, gesturing down to the raft which was on land and had been tied firmly, so it would stay that way, "You two built that thing?!"

"Ryuzaki did most of the work," Light replied, looking around, "Where's..."

"Hang on," Matsuda pulled out a walkie talkie, "Chief! Ryuzaki found Light, we're by that house we spotted."

...

The idea of seeing his father again made Light bite his lip. What would his family think about his relationship with Ryuzaki? And he still felt that he couldn't be trusted. He knew his chances of success had been destroyed the moment L had intervened, so there was no point to not going back with him willingly—he knew the detective well enough to know that even before L had established it, he would have been dragged out. 

But he didn't _want_ to die, maybe this was just a pathetic excuse his mind had fabricated to prevent him from doing the right thing. Thoughts of his kill count and Naomi's words made him feel queasy. Perhaps therapy would help... he didn't know, just that he didn't want to leave Ryuzaki. He felt like an ass now, because L's fear of abandonment had been confided in him, and then he went and tried to abandon his friend and lover. But come on, it was better L was a little hurt than dead and betrayed.

This whole thing was a mess he didn't know how to solve, but he was tired of all the death. Maybe there was a way he could still keep his memories but not be dangerous...

All those thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when his father appeared, having clearly run through the forest to find him. Father and son made eye contact for a moment, and Light cringed, feeling awful for what his behavior must have put his Dad through. Of course, all of that could change once his Dad found out about—

He felt a hand cupping his cheek, and tears were pouring down his Dad's face, "Light..." So much love in his tone, that Light broke, hugging him and crying,

"Dad..." Both began crying, holding each other close, not wanting to let go. 

"I was so worried about you and that I'd never see you again."

"I'm sorry, Dad, I'm sorry I fled." 

His father's voice was soothing and hushed, "What's troubling you that would make you want to stay here alone?" He couldn't speak the whole truth, and that brought even further guilt, but he might as well rip off the bandaid now.

"I—I'm afraid of what you'll think of me. Ryuzaki and I..." he took deep breaths, looking towards L, who was giving him a reassuring smile, and Ryuk gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, "We're together, Dad. I... I know I'm not the son you wanted. I'm... gay, Dad." He hunched, waiting for the response.

The one he got was not what he expected, to be pulled closer,

"Oh, Light, I've suspected for months that this was the case and that you and Ryuzaki would end up as more than friends." He smiled, "All that matters to me, especially given recent events, is that you're safe and happy."

"You're not upset?"

"Not at all, Light." Then his Dad glared at Ryuzaki, "You and I though, are going to be having a serious talk if you're going to be more than friendly with my child."

It was so... it wasn't what Light expected, but knowing that he was accepted made this whole coming home idea a lot easier to do. He hugged his Dad again, love and acceptance making him happy despite the guilt and dark thoughts plaguing the back of his mind. 

Mogi cut in, "I'm sorry for ruining the moment, but is nobody going to mention Kira is active again, and we need L's help to solve the case?"

Light and L both instantly knew it was Misa, but they both put on a show of acting shocked, "What?!"

And Light knew he had to clean up the mess he had made with her, "Well, you could have just started with that! We need to head back!" He broke the embrace with his Dad, turning to Ryuzaki, who nodded.

They all started heading back, and Light lingered back with Ryuzaki, needing a little support since his leg was acting up a bit, but he didn't want anyone to know. "Of course, Misa was an idiot. Hopefully, we can deal with this quickly, and then... how do you feel about attempting an actual relationship with dates and such, Ryuzaki?"

There was a moment's silence before L spoke, "L."

"What?"

"That's my real name. L Lawliet. And I would like the idea of 'dates and such.'"

The realization L just trusted him with his full name hit him like a ton of bricks, but in a positive way. Ryu—L trusted him with his real name, something he hadn't trusted anyone else with. It brought ease and a sense of self, determined even more now to make sure he didn't fall back onto the notebook, and prove that L wasn't mistaken to entrust him with this closely guarded secret.

"Alright, then, _L_." He grinned, looking towards Ryuk, this time with hope instead of despair in his expression, "Let's go home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, I didn't end the chapter in tragedy! 
> 
> Also, just because we're almost done, I've decided to explain the Camellia nickname. In Japan, the meaning of the flowers are love, longing, and waiting, depending on the color. The name for these flowers in Japan is Tsubaki. The kanji in Light's name can also be seen as Tsuki, so it's a play on Light's name in a sense. So I suppose in a Japanese Dub of Raft, the nickname would be Tsubaki.


	20. Chapter 20

Light scrubbed himself for the fifth time in the shower, breathing in the steam and enjoying the hot water and different soaps. They had gotten home an hour ago, and Light had immediately hopped into the shower to clean himself up, while L worked to find a way to deal with Misa and take Kira down with her, giving Light time to rest and keep away from the stress. 

He wanted to help, but seeing as he had fallen asleep on the plane, he was alright resting for a bit.

It was another fifteen minutes before he finished cleaning himself, and put on a plush bathrobe, much softer than the rough fabrics he had been wearing for weeks, and he entered the bedroom he and L shared, where Ryuk was playing with Lily. It was unclear whether the cat could see the Shinigami or not, but the two were still playing.

Ryuk laughed, "Feeling better, Light-o?"

"A bit. I'm still going to get dressed and go help L—no point in L fixing the mess I made." He smiled a little, "L. He really told me his name." He quickly went to the closet to get dressed, changing into some blue sweatpants and a grey shirt, bandaging his hand and walking downstairs to see everyone else.

"Ryuzaki," he called, to maintain L's secret with the others, "Your turn."

Everyone took a moment to stare at him, and Light flushed a bit, struggling to walk down the stairs with his leg, but he was still grinning. It was nice to be back, even if he found that he still didn't mind the idea of being back on the island.

L looked around to the others, "I'll be back shortly." He headed upstairs, and suddenly, even more attention was on Light. Matsuda grinned,

"So, Light, Ryuzaki told us his side of the story about what happened, but what about you?"

Light told their story, leaving out the parts with Ryuk and the fact he was actually Kira. Telling the story without those two details made things a lot less complicated—a simple tale of two friends surviving and falling for each other. It just served to make him feel guilty about his lies.

L came down about five minutes later, wearing his trademark white shirt and jeans. It was almost jarring to see him wearing that again, and it just went to show that they were really home.

"Right," L leaning against the table in the main room, "So as I was saying, you guys were in charge of the Death Note, not Light and I. I believe Misa took it."

"But Misa's been downstairs," Matsuda pointed out, "How could she have been killing?"

"Has she been allowed to leave headquarters?" 

Silence as realization dawned on everyone. L continued,

"Now, I have a theory about how to handle Shinigami—and looking back at the footage with Higuchi, I have reason to believe that Rem deeply cares about Misa. If we play our cards right, we can arrest her without any risks."

"And how would we do that?" Soichiro asked, and L smiled,

"Has anyone told Misa that Light and I are alive and well?" Shaking of heads all around, confirming nobody had said anything on the matter. "Right, then, that will make things much easier. Watari, get me in contact with one of the prisons, housing a few dozen Death Row Inmates." Light suddenly burst out laughing,

"Do you ever stop with the Death Row Inmates?!" L rolled his eyes,

"What? They're good resources, especially when I need human sacrifices."

"I'm sorry, human sacrifices?" Mogi asked, and L just shrugged,

"You'll see." 

OoOoO

"That was..." Light gaped at Misa on the other side of the screen, "Way easier than I thought it would be." 

L's plan had been to let Misa go, and then have a bunch of Death Row Inmates attack her in her home. Rem killed them, and as planned, died in the process, and the next day, Misa was arrested under suspicion of being Kira.

This part had gone off without a hitch, just as planned. However, what had not been expected was for Misa to confess to being the Second Kira—saying there was no point in hiding it anymore since she had been caught twice, the original Kira was dead, and her beloved Light was lost at sea.

"It's over," L confirmed, and Light giggled, seeing Lily was sitting on L's shoulder. According to the vet, she wasn't going to get much bigger, since her breed was much smaller than the average cat. She was also very fluffy after being properly cleaned. "Oh, and speaking of which, you have therapy at 4pm tomorrow. Afterward... I was wondering if you wanted to stay over. Dinner and a movie, or," L looked away, flushing, "Something like that." 

"It's a date," Light gave L a peck on the cheek, noticing his Dad come in, "Oh, hey, Dad." 

Soichiro smiled at Light, and a different expression at L, which basically said, "break his heart, and I break you." 

"I just came to check on the investigation. So, Amane confessed." 

"Yes." L confirmed, "There will be no trial, as her celebrity status will be worked to her advantage. I am already working with Watari to perhaps have it, so the world believes Misa Amane was lost at sea in a plane crash, while, in actuality, she shall be executed next week."

"I still can't believe Misa-Misa would..." Matsuda trailed off, and Light shrugged,

"Perhaps she's naïve, or trying to avenge her parents in her own way—or maybe she was just horny for me and trying to use that to gain my approval, but since we had only known each other for a day before she got arrested last time, she couldn't jump that on me."

"I suppose that makes sense..." Matsuda muttered, and Light slumped in his seat, thinking about the fact Misa's kills were a drop in the bucket compared to his own total of thousands. Yes, she was a bad person, killing just to get in his pants, and he was making her motives sound much nobler than they actually were. However, he was practically getting away scot-free, and what if he did lose himself again?

He shook himself, trying to remember that he had been given a second chance, and L was there for him, to help him. He was going to learn from his mistakes, gather more knowledge about the world. Maybe one day, he could get past the remorse, and find a way to improve the world in another way.

OoOoO

Light clung to L after a nice dinner, and the two of them braving the movie adaptation of _Stardust_ together. Two plates were on the nightstand which had once had cake, and Light was now laying in bed next to L, with his partner's arms around him. Ryuk had devoured a bowl full of apples and was on the hunt for more, and Lily was asleep on the pillow next to them.

"It's strange," Light muttered, "Being back in the city, on a bed and not the blanket pile, with an actual heater."

"You'll get used to it, given a little time." L assured him, running a hand through Light's hair. Light hummed a little to show his approval, and his gaze fell on the night sky outside.

"I'm going to miss the stars." They both sat up, and L turned off all the lights in the room, walking towards the window with him. 

"There's somewhere I want to take you, Camellia, if you're still interested in traveling the world. It's where Watari took me when he found me—about an hour outside of Winchester. It's easy to see the stars there."

Light looked out the window still, thinking about what his therapist had said. "I want to go, but I don't think I can get on a plane... not for a while, anyway."

"That's okay. Once you're ready. We have plenty of time." He turned to a small speaker, turning it on, soft piano music playing, and L held out his hand, "Do you want to dance with me?"

Light turned towards L's extended hand, remembering the first time they had danced under the stars. Now things were different—they were really home. Despite himself, he felt tears in his eyes, feeling he didn't deserve this, but nevertheless, he took L's hand, being pulled close into a slow dance, and he found himself crying through the movements.

He noticed L brush away one of his tears, not asking what was wrong because he already knew, just holding him close and asking a different question, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just give me time... and love me." Light replied softly, "That's all I ask of you."

"Of course, Camellia."

The two continue to gently dance to the music for hours, and Ryuk watched with a grin, more than satisfied with this as the end of one adventure.

It wasn't a happy ending to their story with everything right in the world—Light doubted it ever would be—everything still felt like a mess even if he knew it should be okay now. But they still had time left in their lives, time for both of them to heal and have new adventures.

And that was the best thing he could ask for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe I actually finished this. It was such a fun fic to write, and thank you all for staying until the end and all of your wonderful comments.
> 
> This might get a sequel at a later date, but that is not a guarantee, and if it was, it wouldn't be for a while.


End file.
